KOLKATA: More than 24 hours after a fire gutted a three-storey plastic chair factory at New Barrackpore near Sodepur-Ghola on the northern fringes of the city on Monday afternoon, five workers, who were feared trapped inside, are yet to be traced. After bringing the blaze under control on Tuesday afternoon, the members of disaster management group, fire brigade officials, police and factory workers were still conducting search operation till reports last came in. But, they didn’t even find remains of any charred bodies, said a source.The family and relatives of the missing persons — Sanjib Paria, Paltu Duari, Subodh Roy, Nityananda Roy and Munnaprasad Roy — launched an agitation in front of Khardah MLA and state finance minister Amit Mitra when he visited the spot. Mitra later said that all the affected persons would be given compensation by the state.Kin of a missing person break down at the spotThe bereaved family members, who have been waiting anxiously outside the factory since Monday afternoon, also alleged that an emergency exit at the welding section on the top floor was closed. “It was around 12.30pm on Monday when my son called me from his cell phone asking to me reach the spot. I rushed to the spot from my Beadon Street home to find my son nowhere. I came to know from locals that they had seen some workers trying to jump out of the second floor but couldn’t break an iron gate locked from outside. I don’t know whether he is alive or dead,” said Nemai Paria, Sanjib’s father.Paria added, “I had sold my two-cottah plot so that my son could study electrical engineering, but he didn’t get a good job after completing his studies. He joined this factory as an electrical supervisor barely three weeks ago. But we never imagined such a tragedy was waiting to happen.”According to locals, there are about 150 factories in the “industrial belt” at New Barrackpore’s Jugberia under Bilkanda GP I. “This plastic chair factory was the biggest and located on four bighas. This factory had been in operation since 2002. Around 100 workers were involved in this chair manufacturing and storage facility unit. We came to know that it was run illegally and that the unit didn’t have adequate fire safety measures. A comprehensive probe has been ordered and a stern action will be taken against the factory authorities,” said Chittaranjan Mondal, the local panchayat chief.Police said the factory owner was at large. “A huge amount of gutted iron scraps and others materials in all three floors were removed during the search operation. Raids are on for the factory owner,” said Ananada Roy, DCP, Zone II, Barrackpore Commissionerate.

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