About 350 traders of Orphangunge Market in Kidderpore, where a massive fire broke out on June 16, have submitted applications to the traders’ association seeking compensation for their shops that were destroyed or damaged by the blaze.

The president of Orphangunge Market Babosayee Samity, the market’s traders’ body, said the numbers could increase to 500.

The applications are required to obtain compensation announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

The market is run by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

During her visit to the market following the fire, Mamata had announced ₹10,000 as an immediate relief to the affected traders. “They have to run their families,” Mamata had said.

The chief minister had also announced compensation of ₹1 lakh for traders whose shops were destroyed, and ₹50,000 for those whose shops were partially damaged.

According to sources in the KMC, owners of all shops, irrespective of the scale and extent of damage to their shops, will receive ₹10,000.

A survey will be carried out later to ascertain the extent of damage before the full compensation is released.

Sajjan Agarwal, president of Orphangunge Market Babosayee Samity, said the association had received applications for compensation from 350 traders till Monday morning.

“Many traders are still preparing their documents. The number of applications could go up to 500. Once all traders whose shops have been impacted by the fire submit their applications, we will submit the bunch to the KMC,” said Agarwal.

The KMC will start clearing the burnt portions from Tuesday as the traders have sought time for inspections by insurance firms.

“We requested KMC officials not to clean the burnt portions of the market as the insurers were inspecting the premises. KMC officials listened to our request and will start clearing the area from Tuesday,” said Agarwal.

A KMC official said there were a little over 1,300 shops in the market, according to a survey conducted by the civic body in 2022, soon after the district administration of South 24-Parganas handed the market over to the KMC.

Some of the traders also met the chairperson of borough IX of the KMC, Debalina Biswas, on Monday afternoon.

Following the Kidderpore fire, the KMC’s mayoral council member in charge of markets, Amiruddin (Bobby), asked the department to visit markets and draw up reports on the state of firefighting preparedness and their shortcomings. Each team visiting markets will conduct a fire audit covering several aspects, including the number of fire extinguishers, their condition, and the date of last refill.

The Telegraph visited a few markets run by the KMC and found they had only fire extinguishers as a measure against fire. In some markets, the passages were blocked with goods.