The West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services (WBFES) Directorate has issued a show-cause notice to the office of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, located at 9 Camac Street in Central Kolkata. This action comes in the wake of a recent incident involving the contentious removal of an allegedly unauthorized hoarding from the party’s office.
On Tuesday, the notice was directed at both the proprietor and the occupants of the sixth and seventh floors of the building, warning that the premises may be evacuated and sealed within 48 hours due to serious fire safety violations.
These floors are leased by Abhishek Banerjee, who serves as the national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, and they currently function as his party’s offices.
The issuance of the notice follows an inspection carried out on August 31 by fire department officials, who were accompanied by the building’s manager, Sumon Singh. The inspection revealed significant compliance failures that posed an immediate fire risk to both the building’s occupants and adjacent properties.
Official records indicate that the Renewal of Fire Safety Certificate (RFSC) for the commercial structure, which consists of two basement levels and seven floors, expired on August 10, placing the current occupancy in violation of Section 11C of the West Bengal Fire Services Act of 1950.
During the assessment, officials documented numerous violations on the two floors. An illegal mild steel structure topped with corrugated sheets was erected over the driveway, hindering access for fire emergency vehicles.
Moreover, multiple unapproved LPG cylinders were discovered stored in the cafeteria on the seventh floor, significantly increasing the building’s fire load.
The emergency response infrastructure was found to be in a dire state, with non-operational fire alarm and detection systems, insufficient maintenance of the pump sequence leading to an empty seventh-floor riser, and only one exit point linking the seventh-floor offices to the internal corridor.
As a result, the Director-in-Charge of WBFES has mandated that the owner and occupants report in person within 48 hours, bringing along the appropriate building plans and documentation to justify why an immediate evacuation and sealing order under Section 37A of the Fire Services Act should not be implemented.
Copies of this notice have also been sent to the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station and the Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to ensure strict compliance with the directive.
Sweety Kumari is an experienced journalist based in West Bengal, contributing to The Indian Express. With over ten years in the media sector, eight of which have been spent at The Indian Express, she has established a reputation for reliability and expertise across a variety of important subjects.
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