Mamata Offers Sops To Traders Hit By Market Fire
A compensation of ₹1 lakhs and ₹50,000 for each of the fully damaged and partially damaged outlets respectively would be paid: CM Mamata Banerjee
KOLKATA: Hours after nearly 1300 shops were destroyed in a devastating fire at Kidderpore Market in the port area of the city, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the site from the Assembly and announced a rehabilitation plan for the affected businessmen and traders.
The CM said that a compensation of ₹1 lakhs and ₹50,000 for each of the fully damaged and partially damaged outlets respectively would be paid. Ms Banerjee however informed that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation would carry out a survey of the 150-year-old market at Orphangunge Road and its shops before disbursing the amounts.
Till then, the shop owners would get assistance of ₹10,000 and can run their businesses temporarily at an adjacent area, she said. The CM added that the market would be rebuilt meanwhile. She was accompanied by Kolkata Mayor and urban development minister Firhad Hakim and another cabinet colleague Aroop Biswas.
The fire broke out at the market after 1 am on Monday. Within an hour, nearly 1300 shops were gutted though 20 fire tenders were pressed into service but they faced a huge challenge to reach the spot due to narrow lanes.