Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in a fire at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the tragedy.
“Extremely pained to learn about the loss of lives due to a fire mishap in Kolkata. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy. May the injured recover at the earliest. The local administration is assisting those who are affected,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a post on X.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday, prompting a major rescue operation by the police and fire brigade.
Kolkata Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire. The exact cause of the blaze has not yet been established.
The incident has also prompted scrutiny of the hotels operating from the building. West Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul, who visited the site, said the state government was considering forming a team to verify whether hotels across Kolkata have valid permits and fire licences.
Paul said multiple hotels were operating across three floors of the building, with several small rooms, and indicated that action would be taken if violations were found.
“We are planning to form a team to check whether the hotels have valid permits and fire licences,” she said, adding that the police investigation would determine other details related to the incident.
(With ANI inputs)
