On the eve of Diwali, a fire broke out at a slum in Kolkata's New Town area in the evening. More than 35 hutments gutted in the fire. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire. Police said prior to the accident, locals had floated diyas in the waterbody in the spirit of celebrating a crackerless Diwali. However, cops said some wooden and plastic portions attached to some hutments beside the waterbody caught fire from the diyas and within no time the entire area was up in blaze by 7 pm. Such was the intensity of the fire that the blaze and fumes could be seen from highrises far-away in New Town creating panic among the locals. Locals said some gas cylinders had even burst to add further fuel to the fire.