Panic gripped Tollygunge on February 15 as flames erupted in a swanky residential skyscraper, forcing Tollywood luminaries onto the streets. Diamond City Tower 2, home to actor duo Yash-Nusurat and politician-actress Sayantika Banerjee, was shrouded in dense smoke after a fire broke out on the fifth floor.
Initial reports suggest a short circuit or an unattended puja lamp triggered the inferno during Shivratri rituals. A resident on that floor had lit a diya for worship, left it flickering, and gone downstairs—sparking the blaze in their absence. The alarm blared, halting elevators and sending hundreds down smoke-filled stairwells.
Yash and Nusurat grabbed their children and bolted from their upper-floor apartment, joining the exodus. Director Shubhrajit Mitra, caring for his ailing mother on a higher level, navigated the chaos carefully. ‘I saw the building emptying fast; it was terrifying,’ he told reporters.
Fire services acted decisively with four tenders, extinguishing the fire without casualties. Banerjee, absent from the scene, allayed fears from afar: ‘Heard about it, but I’m safe in Baranagar.’ Damage assessments are ongoing, with fears of major material losses.
Just days earlier, a Salt Lake high-rise fire sickened an employee, highlighting recurring vulnerabilities in Kolkata’s high-density buildings. This incident underscores the perils of festive open fires in confined spaces and prompts urgent reviews of building safety norms. Residents breathe easier today, but the scare lingers.