Eight killed in Tarapith hotel blaze; CM Suvendu orders strict action against negligence
Kolkata, August 17: The death toll in the fire that broke out early Monday morning at a hotel near the famous pilgrimage site of Tarapith in West Bengal’s Birbhum district has risen to eight.
According to the official death list, five of the deceased are residents of South Garo Hills in Meghalaya and three are residents of Alipurduar district in West Bengal. The deceased have been identified as Rajendra Nath, Asha Nath, Buran Modak, 10-year-old Shivraj Modak, 8-year-old Aushnath Modak, Kamal Roy, Amit Pal, and Subir Saha.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari expressed grief over the incident and offered condolences to the families of the deceased. He said that strict action will be taken against those found negligent. The government will also announce financial assistance for the affected families.
Adhikari stated on social media that a large number of devotees were staying at the hotel at the time of the accident, having come to visit and worship Maa Tara. He explained that the police administration acted swiftly and rescued many people, but despite all efforts, eight people could not be saved.
He added that the Superintendent of Police, the District Magistrate, local MLA Dhruba Saha, and State Minister for Fire and Rescue Kaushik Chaudhary are currently at the scene and are closely monitoring the rescue operations.
Chief Minister Suvendu stated that the state government has taken strict measures to determine the root cause of this tragic incident. “I assure you that the culprits will not be spared and will be severely punished according to the law. Appropriate compensation for the victims will be announced in due course. My condolences and prayers are with the families of the victims.”
Thirty-four people were rescued safely, while one person with burn injuries is undergoing treatment in the hospital. Those rescued include Archana Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Anubhav Singh from Patna; Subhadio Saha, Parineeta Saha, Biswanath Saha, and Manik Saha from Dinhata; Tapan Jyoti Mandal, Kalyani Mandal, Piyali Mandal, and Munmun Mandal from Dum Dum; 10-year-old Tiyasa Mandal, 8-year-old Kausani Mandal, and Rozina Khatun; Dilip Kumar Pal, Narayan Pal, Narayan Das, Satya Biswas, and Bhola Sharma from the Chakdah police station area; and Ganesh Dey, Chandrika Naha, Dolon Naha, Madhabi Modak, Jitipriya Naha, and Jharna Dey from Meghalaya. Uttam Das, Mitalis Saha, Bijay Krishna Singh, Bhaskar Saha, Malay Sutradhar, Manoj Pramanik, Rajdeep Tiwari, Tumpa Pandey, and Subhajit Tiwari were also rescued.
