Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday appealed to shopping mall owners and operators to remain cautious while speaking about the recent fire outbreak at one of them.

“...I will appeal to malls to remain cautious. There was an incident of a fire a few days ago, you must be aware. I’m not taking the name (of the mall). A fire broke even before, twice in a few months,” the chief minister said during a meeting with ministers and senior government officials at the state secretariat, Nabanna.

“We have received certain inputs. Not all shopping malls, shopping complexes and business centres are bad. But everyone needs to be alert,” Mamata said.

The chief minister did not name the mall but it was evident that she was referring to a fire that broke out on Monday morning at Acropolis Mall in Kasba.

The fire broke out at a momo chain’s counter at the food court of the mall,
triggering panic among employees in the offices and shops in the building.

A blaze in June resulted in the mall being closed for 49 days.

This time, the mall reopened by 11.10am, around 40 minutes after the fire
was detected.

Monday’s fire was contained within the food outlet and did not cause much smoke, unlike the June blaze that gutted a bookshop, said officials of Acropolis Mall and the fire services directorate.

The fire services authorities had to smash glass windows in June to let the smoke escape.

“Just like the shopping malls and complexes, I request the public to remain alert as well,” Mamata said.

When the blaze broke out at Acropolis Mall on Monday, fire alarms rang and many employees in offices and stores ran out.

The security personnel at the mall used fire extinguishers to douse the flames.

A handful of employees were preparing to open their stores when the fire broke out. Following protocol, the security personnel asked them to step out of the building.