When Bombay was burning in the horrific 1944 explosion

Rafique Baghdadi recalls how the fire destroyed the docks and railways as well as thousands of homes Pic courtesy Railway archivesEvery April 14 city historian Rafique Baghdadi now in his 70s takes a silent walk inside the Byculla zoo garden and recounts his parents tales of how this public garden was a lifesaving oasis when the city was burning during the 1944 Bombay Dock ExplosionMarked as Fire Services Day today the Bombay docks explosion occurred at Victoria Docks when freight steamer SS Fort Stikine caught fire The ship was destroyed in two giant blasts scattering debris sinking surrounding vessels and setting fire to the area killing around 1300 people In the midst of all the chaos Byculla zoo or Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyaan and Zoo as it is known today was the one place where families found refugeAlso Read 1944 Bombay explosion St Xavierrsquos High School in Fort houses pieces of propellers from the explosionRafique BaghdadiIt was a horrible horrible time My parents kept telling me about those chaotic days The Second World War was on and everyone thought the Japanese had attacked the city Since it was wartime newspapers were restricted there were limited updates People were unaware for nearly a week as to what was happening recollects Baghdadi BritishIndian wartime censorship permitted news reporters to send updates only in the second week of May 1944The entire business district near the docks was nearly wiped out Due to the blasts gold bars from the ship rained on nearby localities This fuelled more rumours and many abandoned the city forever added the historianSome 80000 people were made homeless and 66 firemen lost their lives in the aftermath It took three days to bring the fire under control and later 8000 men toiled for seven months to remove around 5 lakh tonnes of debris and bring the docks back into actionIn Victoria we trustThis was in the 1940s when the city was still called Bombay and almost all popular spots were named after Queen Victoria So as the inferno raged at Victoria Dock harried citizens either moved to Victoria Garden todays Byculla zoo for refuge or to Victoria Terminus now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus or CSMT leaving the city in hordesEveryone wanted to leave the city by the first available train and there was pandemonium like never before at VT People came from all over with their belongings to leave the city My father was working at Bombay Talkies at Malad which was a bit far from the action but my mom was at her mothers place at Mazgaon where the heat was on She and her family had rushed to Victoria Gardens for shelter Almost everyone in the vicinity had gone there many families took their lifes belongings with them said BaghdadiThe docks were completely damaged the railway lines were burnt and public property stood in ruins April has been a painful month for the city and todays generation should know this he addedThe Mumbai Fire Brigades headquarters at Byculla built a memorial to the numerous firefighters who lost their lives in the disaster National Fire Safety Week is observed across India from 14 to 21 April in memory of the 66 firemen who diedCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates