BENGALURU: Two days after a fire at a bar at Kalasipalyam claimed five lives, curiosity and speculation dominated the minds of the residents of the area.
On Wednesday morning, as officials of the Excise Department collected liquor containers from the bar, several locals gathered outside to get a view of the bar’s gutted interiors. A motorist passing on the road stopped at the location to ask a local person about the incident. When the motorist learnt that the workers were sleeping inside, he asked in a shocked voice, “Where is the space to sleep inside?”
With official confirmation of the reason for the fire yet to be given, the neighbourhood is rife with speculations of what could have caused the fire. While K Pandit, who runs a cigarette shop close by, heard that cooking gas from a cylinder which had been left open caused the fire, he attributed it to an ‘act of God.’
The same building also houses a hostel for around 50 college students. On being asked about the presence of a bar in the same building, Lingappa, the manager of the facility, said, “The bar was among the first outlets to come up in the building about 35-40 years ago. Some people did question its location in the past, but nothing came of it.”
All the outlets in the building have been going without electricity and water supply since the incident, due to which their businesses have been affected.
Asif Ahmed, who owns the Bismillah Hotel just a few shops away from the bar, said business has been hit for two days due following the incident.
However, even for those who sleep at workplaces in the area, it is business as usual, and the possibility of the same thing happening to them has not crossed their minds.
Jeeva, one such worker, is scared, but for a totally different reason. “I’m scared of the ghosts,” he says.