The fire that gutted rows of shanties under Durgapur bridge in New Alipore last Saturday also damaged the bridge’s health, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

The state government has barred the movement of heavy vehicles on the bridge connecting New Alipore and Chetla.

“The health of Durgapur bridge has been damaged because of the fire. We have been forced to impose some restrictions. We have to undertake an extensive repair job. It is going to cost us a lot of money. We sent a team for inspection... which revealed that the flames damaged the bridge,” Mamata said at a news conference at Nabanna, the state secretariat.

She said lighting small fires to fight the winter chill can lead to a big blaze.

“Lighting a fire for warmth often triggers a blaze in winter. I will not say it is intentional. The other day, a fire broke out under Durgapur bridge. The land belongs to the railways. I will request the railways to keep an eye on the land. People are settling there. I am not asking them to drive the people away. But a fire causes huge losses,” she said.

On Saturday evening, mayor Firhad Hakim, who visited the spot, told reporters: “A day ago, a fire broke out in Tiljala. Now, in New Alipore. We have to see if these were caused by the small fires that people light to keep themselves warm”.

Shopping hubs

Mamata listed a series of initiatives to set up shopping malls on government land in Calcutta and the districts. It will propel Bengal’s economy and create jobs, she said.

One such shopping hub will come up on a plot of land opposite Alipore Zoo, she said.

“There is space opposite Alipore Zoo. The old zoo aquarium and part of the zoo hospital stood there. The rest of the space was unused. We are going to build a huge shopping hub there... The aquarium will remain there. The zoo hospital will be accommodated on zoo land,” she said.

On July 25, this newspaper reported that the Mamata government has decided to sell off 254 cottahs, or 4.2 acres, of prime land just opposite Alipore Zoo in an apparent bid to generate more revenue to run its welfare schemes smoothly.

On Thursday, Mamata said another shopping hub would come up opposite Alipore Jail Museum.

“There is a space opposite the Alipore Museum. A huge structure is coming up there. We have a huge leather hub, employing five lakh people. Our people make the bags, shoes and belts that are exported to different countries. But our people cannot buy them locally. They have to buy these things from big brands... Half of the area will be used to sell leather products. The other half will be dedicated to Bengal saris,” she said.

“We also want to set up a shopping mall in each district headquarters. We will give land. Tenders will be given. It will be done in a franchisee model. Two floors have to be given to local self-help groups... There will be a car parking area below and a movie theatre on the top floor... We have already earmarked land,” she said.