(TibetanReview.net, Jan09’26) – A total of 11 shops have been gutted by a raging fire which swept through a Tibetan winter sweater-sellers’ market in Kolkata, capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on Jan 8 afternoon. No casualties have been reported and there is no assessment yet of the amount of loss suffered by the visiting Tibetan retailers.
Running winter garment markets in towns and cities in many parts of India is the main source of livelihood for a significant proportion of exile Tibetans living in the country, with many borrowing money from banks and other sources to fund their seasonal business. Many take merchandise from suppliers with an arrangement to repay them after selling their wares.
The fire reportedly did not start in the Tibetan market. Rather, a group of people had lit fire on a ground behind a market full of bamboo poles to keep themselves warm. It somehow inflamed that market run by local residents and soon spread to the nearby Tibetan market. Over 30 Indian shops were gutted while 11 Tibetan shops suffered the same fate as the fire spread. The firefighters, on being called, arrived belatedly, taking 13 minutes to reach the spot.
Nineteen shops in the Tibetan market escaped unscathed, Sonam Tobgyal, the president of the Tibetan traders’ association, has told the Tibetan language tibettime.net Jan 9.
The police have cordoned off the markets as they investigated the cause of the fire and so forth, making it difficult to determine the extent of the loss suffered by the Tibetan retailers, Sonam Tobgyal has said.
Tibetans source most of their merchandise, especially the hosiery items, from Ludhiana in the state of Punjab.
There are currently more than 5,000 members belonging to 235 associations of Tibetan sweater-sellers spread over 21 states and Union Territories of India, according to Sonam Tobgyal.
Fire damages have occurred at one or more Tibetan winter sweater-seller markets almost every year recently. As a result, precautionary measures such as checking the wiring systems, not keeping large amounts of cash, hiring night watchmen and so forth have been implemented, Sonam Tobgyal has said.