Fire Department Orders Partial Evacuation of Building Housing Abhishek Banerjee's Office

The West Bengal Fire Department has issued an order to partially vacate a high-rise building in central Kolkata that houses the office of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee. The directive, issued on Friday, requires the basement, sixth, and seventh floors to be emptied due to the absence of adequate fire safety provisions.

According to a fire department official, an inspection revealed no fire safety measures in the basement. A show-cause notice was previously served to the building owner, giving a 48-hour window to respond. After the deadline lapsed without any reply, the evacuation notice was issued. The official warned that a basement without fire safety equipment could pose a major risk in the event of a fire.

The department also noted that the fire safety certificate for the premises expired on August 10 and had not been renewed. The notice states that the affected floors cannot be used until the deficiencies are corrected and a valid certificate is obtained.

The action follows a floor-by-floor inspection conducted jointly by police and fire officials on Monday. The inspection found inadequate firefighting measures on the seventh floor, the absence of a designated fire exit, and issues with the fire alarm system.

This development comes a day after Banerjee's Camac Street office was ransacked, an incident the TMC blamed on BJP-linked individuals, a charge the BJP has denied. Additionally, a week earlier, authorities had removed an "illegal" TMC billboard from the same building, during which scuffles broke out between private guards, supporters, and police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials.