Rajganj, 21st August: A fire engulfed a clothes godown in the Rajganj market. Many garment business houses from different areas kept their stock in this warehouse.
A fire broke out last Saturday night engulfing the whole place and turning the stocks of clothes into ashes. The locals tried to douse the fire but could not succeed. Later, fire fighters were informed and four fire trucks arrived from Jalpaiguri and Fulbari but by the time they arrived everything were burnt into ashes. At the same time, as soon as the news was received, Rajganj MLA Khageswar Roy and BDO Pankaj Konar reached the spot this morning and talked to the business people who were affected with the tragic incident and also assured them of compensation.
Traders told that about 100 business houses’ clothes were kept in the said warehouse. The burnt clothes were the new stock for the Pujas that the business people had bought. The fire did a lot of damage to the businesses and also incurred a loss of Rs 1.5 crore. The reason behind the ignition of the fire is still not known and there was no reason of short circuit as the warehouse had no electricity. However, candles were used at night thus speculating that the candle could start the fire.
Reportedly, many business persons were on loan and paying their mortgage to run their businesses. But due to the unforeseen incident of fire, they have become helpless and in such a situation. If the government does not give compensation, then the business will not run again. Therefore, the business people raised the demand for compensation.