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The deaths of nine Bangladeshis in a fire at a residential hotel in Kolkata, West Bengal, have raised serious questions about emergency exits and fire safety arrangements at the hotel.
Residents of the building on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market said no hotel staff members were seen after the fire broke out.
They also alleged that there were no adequate firefighting facilities. As soon as the fire started, guests tried to leave the hotel, but the heavy smoke made it almost impossible to determine which way to escape.
“One of the residents said, “We might not have survived if firefighters had not arrived.”
Anandabazar Patrika, one of West Bengal’s oldest media outlets, highlighted the issue in a report.
According to the report, several hotels operate in the multi-storey building, with almost one hotel or guesthouse on each floor. The rooms are small and cramped.
The fire first broke out at a hotel on the third floor. Although the flames were initially not intense, the smoke rapidly increased and eventually engulfed the entire hotel, leaving residents confused about how to escape.
Local sources said the hotels in the building are generally used by people from other Indian states and abroad who visit Kolkata for medical treatment.
The fire broke out while guests were asleep on Tuesday night, trapping many inside their rooms. The building has only one entrance and exit, which is also narrow.
Residents claimed there was no emergency exit. Some people took shelter in bathrooms and tried to escape by breaking windows. Firefighters eventually rescued the residents from the building.
Questions have been raised over how the hotels were allowed to operate despite inadequate firefighting arrangements.
It is also unclear whether the owners had the necessary fire-service clearance to run the hotels and whether such cramped rooms met safety standards.
Among the residents were two friends who had arrived from Rampurhat on Tuesday night. One of them, Ijaz Ahmed, said they were staying at another guesthouse on the fourth floor.
They went to sleep after dinner at around 12:30am. At about 2:15am, they woke up after hearing two women screaming.
When they opened the door, smoke entered their room. “The balcony outside the room was very narrow and had been filled with smoke,” he said.
A family lived on the top floor of the building and was also rescued. A woman from the family said the fire had been extinguished by the time they were brought downstairs.
She alleged that hotel authorities had repeatedly been asked to install proper firefighting equipment but failed to comply. She also said complaints to the administration had produced no results.
BJP leader Santosh Pathak alleged that the hotels had not been constructed in accordance with regulations. He claimed that pillars had been cut to create additional space and increase the number of rooms, weakening the building.
“These were originally residential buildings. They were illegally converted into commercial properties,” Santosh alleged.
So far, nine people have been reported killed in the New Market hotel fire. The victims include six men, two women and a child.
