More than 30 shanties were gutted near Bengal Chemical on Maniktala Main Road on Tuesday evening and traffic on EM Bypass was severely hit as affected residents gathered on the artery and a stretch of it had to be closed to facilitate fire-fighting.

There were no reports of any injuries till late on Tuesday.

Flames were detected inside a shanty around 6.30pm and, fanned by the northerly winds, they soon spread through the thickly populated pocket adjoining Purbasha Housing Estate, police and fire services department officials said.

Around 20 fire tenders took nearly two hours to control the blaze.

As firefighters began their operations, police had to close down a stretch of the EM Bypass, particularly the flank through which Ultadanga-bound vehicles move.

Senior officers said the stretch of the Bypass near Bengal Chemical was closed to traffic from around 7.20pm till late at night and traffic had to be diverted through various roads, including Beleghata Main Road and Narkeldanga Main Road.

Most of the Ultadanga-bound vehicles were directed towards Salt Lake from the Chingrighata crossing, the police said.

On the Bypass, at one point, the snarl extended till the Parama crossing on the Ultadanga-bound flank.

Some of the vehicles headed towards Ruby hospital from Ultadanga were diverted through Salt Lake from the Hudco intersection.

Snarl on EM Bypass on Tuesday evening. Pictures by Gautam Bose

“Several families ran out of their burning houses with their belongings and gathered on the Ultadanga-bound flank of the Bypass. Traffic had to be diverted till the time an alternative arrangement could be made for their night shelter,” said a senior police officer overseeing traffic movement.

According to preliminary estimates, at least 35 shanties were gutted. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen of a shanty.

Firhad Hakim, the chairman of the board of administrators of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, reached the spot and said the displaced families would be accommodated in a community hall nearby.

Firefighters inspect damaged homes. Pictures by Gautam Bose

“The CMC will make necessary arrangements for the rehabilitation of the displaced,” Hakim said. “The chief minister has directed that all arrangements be made for those who have been affected by the fire.”

The police said residents alerted the fire department only after their attempts to douse the flames failed. A section of residents alleged that fire tenders reached the spot nearly an hour and a half after they were alerted. The delay, they said, caused the fire to spread.

“The first set of tenders reached from Maniktala and gradually additional fire tenders started reaching from fire stations nearby. It takes time for these vehicles to reach a particular spot,” said Sujit Bose, the fire and emergency services minister.

“A forensic team will visit the site on Wednesday and the experts will be able to ascertain the exact cause of the fire,” said Jag Mohan, the director general of fire and emergency services.