A porter, Balaram Yadav (45), was seriously hurt while two others sustained minor injuries in the incident.

The three were sitting near the market’s front gate after cleaning the debris when the incident occurred.

Yadav sustained serious injuries on his head and shoulder and was shifted to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.

He received 21 stitches and has been kept under observation.

“Luckily, a major accident was averted as today was a Sunday and only a few of us were on duty. Usually, around 20 to 25 porters work on the site every day,” said Ramprasad Yadav, another porter.

Soon after, a determined Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharjee declared that the building will be pulled down.

“The building is not safe at all. We cannot take any chances after today’s incident. We will demolish it soon.”

He also clarified that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will not make any alternate arrangements for the traders as the building was constructed illegally.

Secretary of the Nandaram Market Tenant Welfare Association Samar Chowdhury, who has been garnering support against the KMC’s decision to demolish the building, however, remained non-committal. “If the civic body wants to demolish the building, we cannot stop them. But before that they would have to make alternative arrangements for all the businessmen who are going through a tough time following the fire,” he said.

West Bengal Fire Services Director-General Debapriya Biswas said: “We have repeatedly said that a number of floors of the Kashiram block are not safe. Our men were present when the incident occurred and rushed Yadav to a hospital in a police van.”