KOLKATA: A prompt response by
Kolkata Police
and the
fire department
and the availability of alternative transportation options — like the ferry service and the Circular Railway — came as a blessing for Howrah-bound commuters after the fire broke out on
Strand Road
in peak office hours on Monday.
Several commuters did get delayed in reaching Howrah station or had to walk a few hundred metres to board buses but the logistics streamlined in half an hour, giving respite to commuters from snarls and chaos that normally unfold following a fire in the central business district.
“The bus I was in waited near Babughat for over 15 minutes. I immediately started planning to walk to Howrah but just then, the bus was diverted through Auckland Row. There were many cops on the road who ensured that the vehicles kept moving,” said Ranadhir Mitra, who was headed towards Howrah.
Police diverted buses and other vehicles through Auckland Row, Kiran Shankar Roy Road, Council House Street and Koilaghat, only blocking the stretch between Strand Road-Council House Street crossing and Strand Road- Koilaghat crossing for fire-fighting. Several Howrah-bound passengers availed ferry services to the station.
“Since the skylift arrived on time and there was enough space for it to operate, we did not have to rush several fire tenders. Consequently, the area was not clogged,” said a senior fire department official.
People working in the building in which the fire broke out rushed out when security personnel raised an alarm. “I was working when an RPF personnel told us to rush out. We rushed down the stairs. Some slipped on the stairs but nobody was injured,” said a railways employee.
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