Mayor Firhad Hakim has instructed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials to inspect Ezra Street, where countless overhead cables are present, and to submit a detailed report.

Several shops have also sprung up around the Parsi fire temple in the area, and Hakim said he has sought a status report about the place.

Nearly 100 shops were gutted or partially damaged in a fire at 26 Ezra Street, a market selling electrical lights and equipment, on Saturday. Traders said around ₹100 crore worth of goods have been destroyed.

The shops in the two-storey market had sprung up surrounding the city’s first Parsi fire temple. While some of the shops were brick structures, many others were stalls made of tin and aluminium sheets. Many have questioned how the shops were allowed to come up around the fire temple.

“There was a fire at Ezra Street. There is a mesh of cables around the place. I have asked for a report on what can be done,” he added.

“Constructions have been done on the space surrounding a religious structure. I have sought a report on what can be done. When I went to the market, there was a lot of smoke. Still, it seemed that shops were surrounding the fire temple,” Hakim said on Monday.

The 186-year-old Rustomjee Cowasjee Church had been in a state of despair for years.

Established in 1839, the temple was inaugurated in the presence of luminaries, including Prince Dwarkanath Tagore. It is a heritage structure recognised by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. KMC’s Graded List of Heritage Buildings lists the fire temple as a Grade-I structure where “no external change” is permitted under the rules.

KMC officials said the area is also congested with numerous encroachments. “The mayor has asked for a detailed report on the status of the place,” said an official.

Discussions on the plight of the Ezra Street market and the fire temple, which has been significantly damaged in the fire, arose at a meeting on overhead cables in the city.

Hakim said KMC has installed underground cables under pavements along many roads. “We will build more underground ducts. We will not allow cables to be hung from street poles,” he said.