A fire had broken out at the underground electrical sub-station near the Park Street station in south Calcutta on Saturday, disrupting the Metro Rail services. Eight people two of them Metro employees and six from a contractor's firm had to be hospitalised for asphyixia due to the heavy smoke.

Member (Engineering), Railway Board, V.K. Agnihotri today said that Calcutta Metro GM G.R. Madan had already gone on leave. A preliminary inquiry report has already been prepared which had identified a number of security lapses, following which the GM proceeded on leave.

Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee refused to say anything on the issue, saying it was a ``technical matter'' and summoned Agnihotri to talk to reporters. She apparently wanted to stay away from controversy and matters related to West Bengal. Extension of the 16.5 km longunderground Calcutta Metro beyond Tollygunge was one of the items in Mamata's West Bengal package.

Agnihotri said that a four-member inquiry committee had been set up under a Senior Administrative Grade personnel, of the rank of a Chief Engineer. The committee will also include a personnel from the Lucknow-based Research and Development Standards Organisation (RDSO). The committee is expected to leave for Calcutta in a day or two and would submit its report in ten days time, he said. Agnihotri himself had also visited the accident site and reviewed the working of the transport system.

He said that the Railway Board had also felt the need for upgradation of technology at the Metro. This, according to him, would be carried out indigenously, almost at one-third the cost of the imported ones.

This was the sixth major fire in Calcutta's underground metro rail since it started. Lakhs of passengers travel by the metro everyday. The fire was reportedly caused by a cable blast as the workers who were doingwelding work were not provided with any safety equipment, said the Railway Board Engineering chief.