Massive fire in clothing market in Bengal's Howrah district
Howrah (WB) (PTI): A massive fire broke out at Mangala Haat, one of the largest garment markets in eastern India, here in West Bengal's Howrah district in the early hours of Friday, police said.
No casualty has been reported so far, a senior officer said.
Many wholesale and retail cloth shops in the market, where textiles are traded, were burnt to ashes.
"It is not yet known how the fire started. Initially, 12 fire tenders were pressed into service. Later six more were engaged in dousing the blaze," the police officer said.
The blaze is nearly under control, a fire department official said.
The amount of damage is expected to be several lakhs of rupees.
Howrah Police Station is close to Mangala Haat. Policemen informed the fire brigade about the incident noticing flames at around 1 am.
The fire spread quickly as the shops made of bamboo and wood were full of large quantities of clothes. The fire department official said the blaze spread over an area of about 5,000 square feet.
Police personnel in large numbers have been deployed in the area, around one and a half kilometres from the Howrah railway station.
Traders reached the spot and demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for their rehabilitation.
"The market was gutted earlier in 1987. We faced a hard time to reorganise things. We have lost everything once again. The chief minister should intervene," one of the traders said.
West Bengal | Massive fire breaks out in Howrah, 12 fire tenders at the spot. Further details awaited pic.twitter.com/JWljfn8tGR
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2023
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
