In Bihar they have acquired a reputation for swilling litres of liquor confiscated by the police. In north Bengal, now, they are becoming fabled as spitfires. Rats. What’s one to make of them?

A primary investigation by the forest department has blamed rats for the June 19 fire that gutted the 57-year-old wooden Holong Bungalow in Alipurduar’s Jaldapara National Park.

A source said a five-member committee, formed immediately after the fire at the bungalow that was once a favourite retreat of former chief minister Jyoti Basu, had suggested that rats had cut the electric wire, causing a short circuit that triggered the devastating fire.

However, the evidence is not conclusive as the building, and all wires, had been destroyed by the fire.

“Those who have stayed in the Holong Bungalow are familiar with the presence of rats. According to the primary report, the rats cut through the electric wires, leading to a short circuit. As the bungalow was made of wood, we got no time to save it,” forest minister Birbaha Hansda, to whom the committee has submitted its report, told The Telegraph.

The fire broke out around 9.30pm on June 19 at the conference hall of the bungalow and spread throughout the entire property.

The bungalow in flames on June 19. Sourced by The Telegraph

Hansda said the forest department was waiting for reports submitted separately by the police and the fire and emergency services departments.

“The two agencies are conducting independent probes into the fire incident, and that is why we are waiting for their reports to see if they differ from ours,” she added.

The bungalow on the banks of the Holong stream was built in 1967 as a forest inspection house with eight double-bedded rooms. Five rooms are currently with the state tourism department and the remaining three are dedicated to forest officials on duty.

The Holong Bungalow was the first choice of tourists visiting the Dooars region because of its prime location, with frequent sightings of one-horned rhinos, elephants, leopards and deer. The animals visit the salt pit in front of the bungalow.

Apart from former chief minister Basu, Mamata Banerjee has also stayed at the property several times. Other important persons who have been to the
bungalow are former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, several of his cabinet colleagues, former governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and author Samaresh Majumdar.

Initially, foresters had suspected that a short circuit from air-conditioners could be the source of the fire. However, during the investigation, the probe team found out that all the air-conditioners and geysers had been disconnected from the power source when the bungalow stopped taking in visitors on June 15 in keeping with annual protocol. Forest bungalows in Bengal cannot be booked for three months during the monsoon starting June 15 as this is the mating period for wild animals.

“However, the electricity connection had been kept on to illuminate the building, mainly the facade. After talking to the staff, we learnt that rats had previously created trouble by cutting power wires. That is why we find reason to believe that this time too such a thing has happened, resulting in a spark,” said a forest official.

A senior forest official in Jaldapara said the bungalow was infested with rats. “As the building is made of wood, there is a gap of a few inches between two layers of the walls. Hundreds of rats used to inhabit these spaces. That has been pointed out in the probe report,” a source who has gone through the findings said.

“As the building was old, the wood had become dry. That is why, despite 30 employees reaching the spot within five minutes of spotting the flames, they could not do anything to save it,” he added.

Hansda has said the government will reconstruct the Holong Bungalow and reopen it for tourists. However, a forest official said reconstruction needed permission from the National Board for Wildlife, a body headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.