700 huts destroyed in Kolkata slum fire

Kolkata (PTI): Around 700 huts in a slum were reduced to ashes in an early morning blaze at Mahestala in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district with local people alleging that the fire was deliberately started.A There was no casualty, fire brigade and police sources said. Fire engines which arrived at the scene at 4:00 am were hindered by railway lines beyond which the slum lay.A Train services on Majerhat�Budge Budge section was suspended from 04:50 am to 08:55 am after which the fire brigade laid hosepipes over the railway lines to the slum, the sources said. A total of fifteen fire engines brought the blaze under control, fire brigade sources said.A The sources said that around 700 huts were destroyed in the blaze rendering 3500 people homeless.A Local people caught four persons and handed them over to the police alleging that the fire was their handiwork.