A 28-year-old man died while as many as 450 people were rendered homeless after a major fire gutted the Basanti colony, adjacent to the railway tracks behind Ultadanga station, on Tuesday afternoon. The charred body of Shyamal Sardar, who was reportedly asleep when the fire broke out, was found from his unit. He is survived by his wife and four children.

The fire broke out around 12.30 pm and even as five fire tenders were rushed to the spot, they proved insufficient in dousing the flames that had engulfed the entire locality in an hour’s time. The response time of the other fire tenders that were called in, was reportedly slowed by the roadblock called by the Trinamool Congress and CITU auto unions in protest against the lack of LPG stations in the city.

Locals, meanwhile, alleged that the Fire department mismanaged the situation.

“Why is it that the fire engines were only interested in saving the market? All the fire engines that were called in were initially busy trying to douse the fire at the B C Roy Hawker Corner Market. By the time, the engines reached the residential side, they had no water left. Even though we have a water body in the vicinity, nothing was done to save our homes,” said Bimal Panja, a resident of the colony whose house was gutted.

Fire department officials, however, blamed the blockades at various road crossings for the delay caused in reaching the spot.

“Five engines from the nearby stations initially arrived, but the other tenders were delayed due to blockades, including the one at Manicktala. By the time we negotiated traffic and reached the spot, the fire had spread,” said D P Biswas, Additional DG, Fire and Emergency services.

The fire was brought under control by 3.45 pm following which local politicians made a beeline to the spot. Some on the prominent visitors included BJP’s Rahul Sinha, Subrata Mukherjee, president of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, Mukul Roy, Minister of State, Shipping, Sujit Bose, MLA, East Belgachhia and Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, MP, Barasat.

Commissioner of Police Goutam Mohan Chakrabarty, meanwhile, conceded that fire services were delayed due to blockades at various points in the city.

“The Fire department worked well to bring the fire under control, but their arrival was delayed due to blockades at various crossings. According to available reports, one person died in the fire,” he said.

Four personnel from the Fire department also fell ill during the fire and were taken to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, from where they were discharged after treatment.

CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya came to inspect the spot around 6.45 pm, but was unable to speak to the victims after a minor clash broke out among the locals. The clash sparked off after a CPM supporter was allegedly beaten up by Trinamool supporters.

Those rendered homeless after the fire have been shifted to the PNT colony grounds after local councillor Rupa Bagchi demanded that they be given temporary shelter. She assured that those affected by the fire would be provided with food, water and basic services till their houses were rebuilt.