QKolkata: Devastating Fire At Bagree Market & More
Your daily lowdown of all things Kolkata.
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1. Season Up In Smoke
The blaze at Bagree Market has snuffed out many businesses at the start of what is usually the most favourable period of the year for them.
The building, a wholesale hub for costume jewellery, garments, toys and plastic goods, houses scores of shops that had stocked up ahead of the festive season starting in less than a month.
Footfall at the six-storey market had been rising since the beginning of September and sales were projected to peak over the next couple of weeks leading to Durga Puja. “The fire could not have happened at a worse time for us. The extent of the damage has yet to be ascertained but we estimate that goods worth Rs 200 crore have been lost,” a member of the Bagree Market Tenants' Association said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Space Shrinks, Safety Goes
Bagree Market had fewer shops across its six floors till the late Sixties and its main entrance was wide enough for firefighting equipment to be easily carried inside, according to old-timers.
As the number of businesses operating out of the market grew, the space needed for accessibility shrunk along with the size of the entrance. The market now has five entrances, none wide enough to conform to firefighting norms.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Blaze Ammo For Opposition
The devastating fire at Bagree Market – within two weeks of the Majerhat bridge collapse – has given the opposition parties in Bengal another opportunity to attack the Mamata Banerjee government.
Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh blamed Sunday's fire, which destroyed 1,000-odd shops and goods worth around Rs 200 crore, on alleged negligence of the fire department.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Governor To Meet VCs
Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi will meet the vice-chancellors of seven universities on 20 September to discuss the problems they are facing on the campus, a Raj Bhavan official said.
The seven institutions are Calcutta, Jadavpur, Presidency, Rabindra Bharati, Kalyani, Burdwan and West Bengal State universities. The governor is chancellor of all these and other state universities.
"The chancellor is expected to speak to us on a range of issues, such as admission, timely publication of results and campus unrest. As a chancellor he can always seek to know about our problems," the VC of one of the seven universities said on condition of anonymity.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Unique Ganesh Puja Tradition
A large number of Maharashtrians gathered at Maharashtra Nivas on Hazra Road for Ganesh Puja on Sunday.
The puja, being organised by Maharashtra Mandal for 90 years, is celebrated for 10 or 11 days till Anant Chaturdashi (23 September).
Most community Ganesh Puja organisers in the city immersed their idols on Saturday or Sunday.
At the Maharashtra Mandal Puja, the rituals are performed by members of the community under the supervision of a priest.
On Sunday, it was the turn of Padmanath Ganapati Joshi, 60, who retired last month as chief financial officer of UCO Bank. "There are Maharashtra Mandals around the world. In Calcutta we have this unique tradition of members conducting the puja," said Joshi, a resident of Behala.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. Ramakrishna Mission Gets New Building On Narendrapur Campus
Ramakrishna Mission Residential College Narendrapur got a boost to its infrastructure with the inauguration of an eight-storey building on Sunday. The new building will house smart rooms, an integrated library, research departments and an auditorium among other facilities.
The foundation stone for this annex building was laid on February 5, 2015. Christened Sarada Mandir, the G+7 storey building will cater to both undergraduate and post-graduate students. The facility measures over 8,000 square feet.
(Source: The Times Of India)
7. Retd State Govt Employee Found Dead In Salt Lake Flat
Two persons were arrested on Sunday after a 78-year-old man was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Saturday night at Salt Lake’s EE Block. Retired KMWSA employee Prithwi Baran Ganguly (78) allegedly died of slow poisoning.
The police arrested Ranjit Santra, a driver, and Jaba Chakraborty, a maid. Both lived and worked at the house.
Ganguly was suffering from several chronic diseases. Police said both Santra and Chakraborty used to look after Ganguly and his ailing wife. Police said the exact cause of death would be known once the post-mortem report is out.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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