Firefighters at Haldiram after the November 19 blaze. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the state fire services department to assess the firefighting preparedness of the Haldiram store at the Exide crossing and prepare a to-do list for the owner by Friday.

Justice Sanjib Banerjee also asked owner Mahesh Agarwal to fulfil the fire services’ requirements by Monday and approach the court.

The judge refused to grant a prayer by Agarwal seeking an interim order allowing him to reopen the shop with at least five LPG cylinders in the kitchen.

“The fire services department will visit the establishment first and send its requirements, if any, to you,” Banerjee told the owner.

Agarwal said in the petition that Calcutta police were not issuing the no-objection certificate necessary to reopen the shop.

“The Calcutta Municipal Corporation had renewed the licence but the police said they would not issue the certificate before receiving a written no-objection from the fire department,” alleged the owner.

State advocate-general Balai Ray, who appeared for the fire services, said the department had made a mistake by allowing Agarwal in 2002 to use “a large number” of gas cylinders in the kitchen of the outlet. Up to 128 gas cylinders can be used in the shop.

“Several cylinders are kept in the godown. In case of a mishap, the AJC Bose Road flyover will be in danger,” added Ray.

When the judge asked whether the government was planning to stop the outlet from operating from the spot, the advocate-general said the fire services should make another inquiry before reaching a conclusion.

The shop was closed by the fire services — the third fire in three years — after a blaze in the storeroom on November 19 last year.

Forensic experts had said that a cylinder in the storeroom had blown up after a short-circuit.