A fire broke out on Thursday afternoon on the bank of the Bagjola canal opposite Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town, destroying parts of the Miyawaki garden. An official said the bank was littered with combustible items such as plastic sheets, bags and bottles.
Initially, residents and security personnel of nearby buildings tried to douse the flames but failed.
At least five fire engines were dispatched but by the time they reached the spot, parts of the garden had been gutted.
The New Town authorities had, along with a private agency, created the garden following the Miyawaki method of Japan.
The Miyawaki method is one of the most effective tree planting techniques to create a forest cover on degraded land.
It takes some 300 years for a forest to develop naturally. But if one follows the Japanese style, which involves planting and nurturing fast-growing local trees, a forest comes into being much faster.
The plot where the Miyawaki garden has come up is inside the Karmyog Green Village and has been carved out of the garbage-ridden bank of the Bagjola canal.
Sourabh J. Sarkar, co-founder of Karmyog Green Village, said: “A lot of plants and trees have been gutted but we are lucky that many survived. This is a great setback but we will try and recreate the forest once more.”
2 dead as scooter rams into post
Two youths riding a scooter died after the two-wheeler apparently lost control and rammed into an electric post on Canal Road, in the Survey Park area in southeast Kolkata, early on Thursday.
Police said Chandan Rajak, 20, a resident of East Rajapur in the area, was riding the scooter and Dipankar Sardar, 22, a resident of the same neighbourhood, was riding pillion when the accident happened around 5.20am.
“Neither was wearing a helmet. They were taken to Baghajatin State General Hospital with multiple injuries, where they were declared dead,” said an officer of Survey Park police station.
Senior officers said motorists have a tendency to speed late at night and in the early hours, when roads usually have relatively less traffic.
“Motorists should actually be more cautious while driving through an empty stretch. Speeding often leads to loss of control and results in accidents,” an officer said.
Drowned
A woman in her 30s drowned in the Hooghly while bathing at the Baja Kadamtala Ghat in central Kolkata on Wednesday. She was declared dead at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.