A blaze broke out in a rubber goods factory in the Tiljala area on Tuesday night. Two storeys of the factory were completely destroyed. The factory was, however, operating without a No Objection Certificate from the fire department. The factory, located on Kustiya Road, was surrounded by several residential complexes. No casualty was reported, as the factory was closed owing to Diwali.“We received a call around 9:30 pm on Tuesday night and rushed 22 fire tenders to the spot,” said officials of the fire and emergency services department. Soon, eight more fire tenders and two water carriers were rushed to the spot. Fire department officials could douse the flames only after three and a half hours and finally the blaze was extinguished at 1:45 am. The factory was owned by Banik Rubber Industries that manufactured rubber sandals. The factory stored combustible materials like leather, rubber, thinner and diesel. The entire factory covered around 15,000 square feet. “The fire department has lodged an FIR in the Tiljala police station against the factory authorities for not obtaining the No Objection Certificate,” said Gopal Bhattcharya, Director, Fire and Emergency Services.“The factory was also not equipped with in-built fire fighting implements,” he added. Bhattacharya sustained injuries in his left arm while dousing the flame. Another fire, meanwhile, broke out around the same time in Rifle range road near Ballygunge on Tuesday night. “Fire broke out in a zari factory at Karaya Road. Five fire tenders took about an hour to douse the flames,” said Bhattacharya. The fire broke out around 9 pm and was brought under control by 10:30 pm. Reports of small fires were reported from six pandals in West Bengal, including two in Kolkata.
