Workers experience hell during Stephen Court clean up

KOLKATA - The putrid smell of charred and decomposed bodies fills the air, there are huge mounds of debris that can be accessed only by risking ones life. But despite the heavy odds, around 100 Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) workers are soldiering on 24×7 to clear the fire-ravaged Stephen Court building here.

With the March 23 killer blaze, that claimed 43 lives, sweeping through the fifth and sixth floors, even the demarcation between the two floors cannot be made in some portions among the ruins, a civil defence worker supervising the clearing up operations told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

We are working under very tough conditions. Our workers are feeling dizzy. Physical discomfort is of course there. It is very risky. In some of the rooms, the false ceiling erected by some commercial establishments is only 5-6 feet high from the ground. he said.

The fifth and sixth floors cannot be differentiated now. The condition is so precarious inside. The intensity of the fire was too much, he said.

Workers stumble upon human skulls or body parts every now and then. A hand with two bangles on it lay on one side of the fifth floor close to an unrecognisably burnt corpse.

While removing the debris from the eastern side of the Stephen Court, opposite the swanky restaurant named after former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, the workers found four skulls from a spot.

It is very suffocating inside the building. Gas, accompanied by foul smell is coming out. We cannot venture into all the areas because of severe conditions that can be life threatening. But still I would say our workers are risking their lives, working inside the Stephen Court. he said.

The KMC workers are doing the job in three shifts daily. In every shift there are 30-35 workers.

But is there a chance of finding more bodies? Yes.

More bodies can be found. So far none of the bodies have been found intact.

And when will the work be over?

Our work is almost complete. But I cannot confirm when it will be complete, the middle-aged man signed off, yelling to some workers to speed up the operation.