A fire ripped through parts of the congested Khidderpore market in southwest Kolkata in the early hours of Monday, gutting hundreds of shops and triggering panic among local traders, officials said.

No casualties were reported.

Officials said the fire, which was reported around 2.05 am, was contained by 6 am, though smoke continued to emanate from several pockets due to residual "pocket fires." At least 20 fire tenders were deployed to douse the flames.

Local shopkeepers claimed that over 1,200 shops were destroyed in the 150-year-old market, although officials have yet to confirm the scale of the damage.

"Viraat khati (huge loss)," said a visibly distressed trader, as he pointed to charred tin sheds and burnt-out goods.

The blaze is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit, a senior fire official said.

The presence of highly flammable materials such as gunny sacks, oil, and butter in nearby godowns intensified the flames, which reportedly spread rapidly from the top floors downward.

The market, with its current structure in place for nearly six decades, was recently handed over to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, a local councillor said.

Officials said the narrow, congested layout of the market hampered firefighting efforts.

"Navigating lanes to bring in fire engines was a huge challenge," an officer at the site said.

Local traders alleged that the fire tenders arrived very late.

"We called them immediately after spotting the fire, but they arrived nearly two hours later," a shopkeeper said.

"When they did, the water pressure was too low, and the supply got exhausted in 10 minutes," he added.

A second fire engine arrived half an hour later, but its water also ran out quickly, they claimed.

These allegations, however, could not be independently verified.

West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose, who visited the site early Monday, was met with angry protests from affected shopkeepers over the delay in response.

"It's a congested area, and our personnel initially faced difficulties in reaching the spot. But we managed to bring the situation under control," an official said.

Meanwhile, another fire was reported in a multi-storey building in the city's Behala area, apparently due to a short circuit. No report of injury was reported, officials said.

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