Thaindian News

Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kolkata Monday saw an outpouring of emotion for the AMRI Hospital fire tragedy victims, as grieving citizens held candle light vigils and paid respects at a memorial column erected for those who died.

Banerjee - alongside noted writers, celebrities, politicians, religious leaders, singers and painters - took part in a two-km candle light march from M.P. Birla Planetarium to the base of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at the Maidan in the city hub.

Painters Jogen Chowdhury and Suvaprasanna, poet Joy Goswami, actresses Debashree Roy and Sohini Pal, walked with ministers, and common people carrying garlands and floral offerings through the city’s bustling Chowringhee area as posters and banners sought “peace for the departed souls”. The 1,000 strong procession culminated in an all-faith prayer.

Earlier, around noon, the chief minister inaugurated and paid homage at a column erected by the Kolkata Police in memory of the victims at the Lions Safari Park, a short distance from the ill-fated hospital in south Kolkata’s Dhakuria. The victims’ names are inscribed in the column.

In a subtle message to the police and administration, she called for ensuring there was no recurrence of the hospital fire, the country’s worst, that has so far claimed 93 lives - mostly patients trapped in beds.

“We all know how tragic and horrific the incident was. Such an incident should never ever recur. We need to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated,” said Banerjee, in the presence of the city police commissioner, chief secretary, ministers and other top bureaucrats and officials.

Along with Banerjee, several of her ministers, her party’s lawmakers and top police officers, and celebrities paid floral tributes and lighted candles at the half-hour function as the police band played solemn tunes, bugles sounded the last post and policemen reversed guns.

Hundreds of people which included celebrated writers Nabanita Deb Sen and Sunil Gangopadhyay and painters Wasim Kapoor and Sameer Aich took out another candle light march from Golpark to Dhakuria.

“Safety measures of other hospitals should be checked immediately. The government must ensure such a tragic event is not repeated again,” said Gangopadhyay, adding that one of the victims was close to him.

“Whenever there is a tragedy of this magnitude people raise their voices and come out but as time passes they forget everything and get busy in their daily life until something like this happens again,” said Kapoor ruing over the short public memory.

Meanwhile, a state government expert team inspected the AMRI Hospital basement - where the fire had started pre-dawn Friday - and said radiotherapy instruments kept there were “badly affected” in the blaze but there was no fear of radiation.

The state government also dispatched teams to review the fire safety facilities in the ill-fated hospital and others spread across the state.

“We inspected the radiotherapy department and all the medical equipment there. There is no fear of radiation from the machines, though they have been badly affected by fire,” Subir Ganguly, head of radiotherapy, Nilratan Sircar Medical College Hospital, told IANS.

The newly constituted five member probe panel headed by a senior fire official, a forensic team, and a high-level police investigation party also visited the hospital.