KOLKATA: A team from IIT Roorkee has written to Kolkata Municipal Corporation , saying they will visit Bagri Market next week to inspect the gutted portion and suggest steps to strengthen the structure so that traders there can carry out modifications to resume operations.The engineers had earlier instructed the traders to strengthen the beams and columns and repair the outer walls of Block A, which caught fire on September 16, destroying 200 shops, to avert any accident. They had also told the KMC that the gutted structure in the wholesale mart didn’t have to be pulled down.“We have received an email from the IIT Roorkee engineers. They will visit the market next week and inspect Block A. The team, headed by a structural engineer, will suggest ways to strengthen the portion,” said a KMC buildings department official.“They will suggest remodelling and re-modifications to strengthen the burnt portion. We are waiting for their suggestions after which we will start work so that even that part can be reopened soon,” said Asutosh Singh, president of the Bagree Market Central Kolkata Traders’ Welfare Association . An official said the team would inspect the roof to figure out if it was strong enough or needed an overhaul. “We had earlier sent the maps and drawings of the place, along with photographs after the fire. The experts said the beams and columns looked strong enough but they would inspect again,” he said.After the devastating fire, which raged on for three days, reducing goods worth crores to ashes, several rounds of inspections were carried out. The IIT Roorkie team, after a visit in September, recommended that the KMC could permit reopening of shops in the unaffected part of Bagri Market if all fire safety guidelines and other measures were complied with. Pinning their hopes on the nod, 800-odd traders having their shops in the unaffected portion started renovation and installation of fire-fighting equipment. “We have finished almost 90% of the work on fire safety. Every guideline is being followed,” said Singh.

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