KOLKATA: Bagri Market , where a fire has raged since Sunday morning, has become the subject of an intense stand-off between KMC officials and forensic experts on one hand and traders and occupants of the building on the other over whether at least a partial demolition is necessary to prevent it from caving in and causing a bigger disaster in future.KMC officials and forensic experts, who took stock of the situation on Tuesday even as fire-fighters continued their three-day-old struggle to douse the flames, said sections of the building had been subjected to “extreme heat” that was likely to affect the beams and columns forming the structure’s bulwark. This necessitated “at least a partial demolition” to prevent the structure from collapsing, they felt.A large swathe of the market’s D Block had been completely gutted by the fire. The fourth and fifth floors of the A, B and C blocks, too, were “extremely vulnerable”, they added, indicating that they were sceptical of the structural strength of these portions as well.Traders and occupants, however, threatened to take “legal help” if demolition was forced on them. They drew a parallel with the Nandaram Market structure, where fire-fighters took more than 100 hours to quell the blaze in 2008, and asked why “our Bagri Market” needed demolition when the Nandaram Market structure — which experienced “a bigger fire” — did not need demolition and was still standing a decade later.The Bagri Market traders met several times, ironically, at the neighbouring Amartolla Lane building that saw a massive blaze last year. Outside, a KMC demolition squad stood ready for deployment. Should any column, beam or floor plate develop a crack, the team will move in to demolish the section and prevent an accident.The forensic team that had on Monday afternoon warned police about the fourth and fifth floors has asked the cops not to allow too many people on these floors, fearing they could crumble under the additional weight. On Tuesday, a forensic team collected concrete samples from the market to analyse the changes it has undergone in the heat. Both steel and concrete that make up the beams and columns lose strength in high temperature.“Firemen and traders are moving in and out of the building. If a section collapses, there will be casualties. So we have asked everyone to be on the lookout for signs of cracks and inform us immediately so that we can act before it causes any harm,” a KMC building department official said.During a building department meeting at KMC on Tuesday afternoon, structural engineers expressed concern over the market’s condition. “A portion of the building’s parapet that is an extension of the floor slab collapsed on Monday. The building looks very unsafe,” said an engineer.Another structural engineers said a building would sustain extensive damage if it was on fire for over eight hours. With steel losing its strength at temperatures of 200°C-250°C and concrete becoming weak at 500°C, the beams and columns that make up a building’s framework become vulnerable.“We have asked our team of engineers to be ready for an early inspection once the state forensic department hands over the building to us. We will take a final call on the demolition thereafter,” the official said.But pulling down any portion of the building will by no means be easy. In fact, it will most definitely be met with resistance from traders. Close to 200 traders met on Monday night and decided that they would mobilise support to prevail on the government not to demolish the market. They also decided that they would rebuild the market with their own expense.“We fear that the administration may try to forcefully demolish the market even though a section of the building is unaffected. Thousands of livelihoods are dependent on this market. We will seek legal help also if the government tries to forcibly demolish the market,” said a trader.

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