A fire broke out in a cluster of shanties adjacent to Central Park, opposite Bikash Bhavan, on Monday morning. More than 50 bamboo and plastic structures were gutted in the fire.

More than a dozen trees were charred and the boundary wall of Central Park was damaged in some places.

At least 10 fire tenders were called in from the Sector V fire station. Firefighters took 45 minutes to douse the flames, a fire official said.

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The flames, leaping up to 35 feet, were checked just before they spread to the adjacent Central Park.

According to residents, the fire broke out around 9.30am and spread rapidly to engulf the entire colony, spread across 1,000mX25m.

“Shob chhai hoye gyalo (everything has turned into ashes),” mumbled Shabina Ali, a vegetable vendor, whose home was reduced to a heap of debris in less than an hour. “I don’t know what to do. We (her family of five) are alive, but where do we spend our nights now?” she wondered aloud sitting on the pavement with her five-year-old son.

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A fire official said that at least two gas cylinders had burst fueling the flames. "There were inflammable materials in the area. These included bottles of kerosene as well as gas cylinders. There were two big explosions, possibly triggered by cylinders," said the official.

The fire spread quickly through shanties, most of which are constructed of plastic sheets and bamboo.

Apart from fire department officials and police, a team from the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation visited the spot. “We will accommodate the families who have lost their homes in temporary shelters,” said an official of the civic body.

Another fire department official said the blaze could have been triggered by an electrical short-circuit.

At least four men who had tried to get their belongings out of their burning homes were injured.

They were taken to Bidhannagar Sub-divisional Hospital, near City Centre, from where they were discharged after treatment.