The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has asked the state fire services directorate to conduct fire audits of markets and also identify challenges faced by fire tenders to access the markets, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Wednesday.

Hakim said the KMC would provide the necessary infrastructure based on the findings.

A fire at Orphangunge Market in Kidderpore on June 16 gutted hundreds of shops. Hakim said the fire tenders struggled to reach the market as the lanes surrounding it were encroached.

"We have asked the fire services to do fire audits. They will also see problems faced by tenders to reach any market," Hakim said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Earlier, while speaking at the monthly meeting of councillors at the KMC's council chamber, Hakim said the civic body will take steps based on the fire brigade's findings. "We will create the necessary infrastructure based on what the fire services find," said Hakim.

The KMC has installed deep tube wells in several city markets, and water from them can be sourced during emergencies, Hakim said. Orphangunge Market, too, had a deep tube well. "But to reach it was difficult during the fire," he added.

Monalisa Banerjee, councillor of Ward 49, who asked a question about fire safety preparedness in markets, highlighted an area in her ward that lacked fire safety measures. In her written question, Banerjee informed that the area near Sealdah station has Sisir Market, Baithakkhana wholesale market, and 70 residential hotels.

Because of very narrow lanes, fire tenders may not be able to enter many of the places, she said. If a fire breaks out, it could be catastrophic.

There are more than 45 markets in the city that are in the custody of the KMC. Many markets are under private ownership. But they are in equally bad shape.

Hakim said traders from Jadu Babu Bazar in Bhowanipore, a market under private ownership, have approached the KMC for an overhaul. "We have asked them to submit a proposal," Hakim said.