Fire breaks out at Statesman House in Kolkata

Kolkata, March 31 : A devastating fire ravaged a portion of The Statesman House on Friday evening destroying some rooms on the ground floor and a section of the first floor of the 130-year-old heritage building, considered a major landmark in the city. The fire was first detected around 8.25 pm in a hall, close to one of the rear gates of the building. The hall housed some very old printing machines that had been lying unused for years. Old copies of The Statesman and discarded wooden furniture were stacked in the hall.

On seeing the flames, private security guards manning the gate alerted the authorities and the fire-engines were called in. Initially, three fire-tenders arrived. But the fire couldn’t be controlled. While the tussle to douse the flames continued, fire soon spread to the first floor. The power supply was immediately disconnected. Two more fire-engines were pressed into service. It took the firemen two hours to bring the blaze under control. ‘‘We all had moved out of the building as the firemen fought to put out the blaze,’’ an employee of The Statesman said.

Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi reached the spot around 10 pm and expressed his concern. Biman Bose, newly-elected state secretary, CPI-M, also reached the spot. As the operations continued, Trinamool supremo, Mamata Banerjee, also arrived.

The operation was supervised by Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, central. ‘‘The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,’’ said Kumar. Till reports last came in, The Statesman staff were back to work preparing for the next day’s edition. ‘‘We are back to work and we will definitely have an edition,’’ said a senior official of the newspaper.

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