On Wednesday evening at around 6:55 pm, a major fire broke out at a slum in Kolkata’s Bagbazar area, the police said. No casualty has been reported so far.

At least 25 fire tenders were pressed into service as the blaze engulfed several houses in the slum on Kshirode Vidyavinode Avenue beside the Bagbazar Women’s College near the Chitpore Lock Gate Bridge. Till late evening, fire engines were engaged in dousing the fire.

Sources said that several houses have been partially and fully damaged in the incident. Locals managed to evacuate a number of people from their houses. The reason behind the fire incident is yet to be ascertained.

Several continuous cylinder explosions were also heard. Locals protested against the police and firefighters as they alleged that fire engines failed to reach on time. The blaze engulfed several houses in the slum.

Firefighters reported having troubles accessing the area as the entry points were relatively narrow. Since the fire broke out during the evening rush hour it had led to a massive traffic jam in the area, police informed.

The blaze also spread to the adjacent Sarada Mayer Bari (Maa Sarada’s house) as the firefighters escorted the saints out, an officer of the fire department said. “The reason for the fire is not yet known. The firemen are fighting it tooth and nail and hopefully, it will soon be under control. We have emptied the entire area. There were several blasts, which could be because of the gas cylinders,” a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said. Local observers stated that a portion of Maa Sarada’s house had also been affected in the fire.

Locals alleged that firefighters reached the spot at least an hour late, because of which the blaze went out of control. A couple of police vehicles were vandalized, following which a team of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed to control the irate mob, the officer said. He added that traffic movement on the Kshirode Vidyavinode Avenue as well as the Chitpore Lock Gate Bridge, the lifeline of the people living in the northern fringes of the city, was totally stopped. “We have also snapped electricity supply in the entire area. There are at least 40 families whose houses have been gutted in the fire. A godown of books is also gutted,” the police officer said. The fire was controlled after around 4 hours.