Kolkata, 19 August (H.S.): West Bengal Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari has blamed the previous Trinamool Congress government for the devastating fire at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata's New Market area, alleging that unregulated and illegal construction over the years had allowed buildings to be used as hotels and commercial establishments despite violations of fire safety norms.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the Chief Minister described the New Market hotel fire as a “terrible example” of the alleged negligence of the previous government. He accused the earlier administration of deliberately turning a blind eye to unregulated construction and violations of fire safety regulations.

Adhikari said that for years, infrastructure had been developed without adequate regulatory oversight. Buildings were allegedly constructed in violation of fire safety norms and subsequently permitted to operate as hotels and other commercial establishments.

The fire broke out at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in New Market late Tuesday night. Several other hotels were also operating in the same building, and smoke spread to the adjoining establishments. Nine people died in the incident, reportedly due to suffocation.

Earlier on Wednesday, Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul and Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services Kaushik Chowdhury visited the site. Both raised questions over the hotel's safety arrangements and the functioning of the previous municipal administration.

Chowdhury said four to five hotels were operating on each floor of the building. He claimed that most of the rooms did not have windows. According to him, only one room had a window, from where firefighters rescued two people using a ladder. He said more lives could have been saved had adequate fire safety arrangements been in place.

The Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services said the present government was having to bear the consequences of the functioning of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation under the previous administration. He questioned how trade licences and other permissions had been granted for hotels to operate in the building and said the matter would be investigated and responsibility fixed.

Former Urban Development Minister and former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim hit back at the allegations. He said it was not solely the mayor's responsibility to verify whether every hotel had a valid trade licence. According to Hakim, matters relating to fire safety licences and safety audits fall under the Fire and Emergency Services Department.

Hakim said merely shifting blame would not resolve the problem. He called for a standard operating procedure to deal with such incidents and suggested that fire safety audits of hotels and commercial establishments should be conducted annually by independent third-party agencies.

He said government departments had limited manpower and could not personally inspect every hotel and commercial establishment on a regular basis. Annual third-party audits, he argued, could help address this gap.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the Kolkata fire. He conveyed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wished the injured a speedy recovery. The Prime Minister said the local administration was assisting those affected by the incident.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh