Aloo Patti would be a hub of activity from 5am everyday, with caterers and eatery owners thronging the New Market corner to buy their supplies.

On Tuesday, a day after being gutted by a fire, Aloo Patti was a mangle of metal cordoned off by police. A strong stench of burnt wood hung in the air.

Most of the shops and stalls in the fire-ravaged market - around 60 establishments were burnt in two hours - sold potatoes in wholesale and retail.

"Aloo Patti supplied potatoes for mid-sized weddings and small and medium eateries in need of around 50kg of the tuber," said Vicky De, whose small arhat (wholesale shop) was completely destroyed by the fire.

When Vicky entered the market after the blaze was contained around 2pm, he found his entire stock where it had been. Only, it was burnt black.

"Around Sunday midnight, 200kg of potatoes had come from Hooghly. I could barely sell 40kg. The rest was destroyed" Vicky said.

Prasenjit Chakraborty, the general secretary of the Aloo Patti Byabasayi Samiti, said more than 500kg of potatoes were sold in the market daily.

"We do get several retail customers who stay in the vicinity or come to New Market to purchase their daily needs. But our main customers are caterers and eateries," said Chakraborty.

The Calcutta Municipal Corporation, which runs the Aloo Patti, along with the rest of New Market, has shut down the place. Work to remove the rubble, which started on Tuesday afternoon, is likely to continue throughout Wednesday.

"There is sheen-deep water inside. Everything has been gutted. Only a mangle of metal is left," said a member of the demolition squad of the CMC that went to the spot on Tuesday morning to pull down some portions of the market that were hanging precariously after Monday's fire.

Twenty fire engines had taken around two-and-a-half hours to douse the flames, which were fuelled by thermocol, paper, gunny bags and plastic.

The frequency of visits by caterers to Aloo Patti had spawned another business inside the market - of paper and thermocol plates, plastic spoons and forks and aluminium packing materials.

Several traders returned to the market on Tuesday morning in the hope of salvaging some of their belongings.

Bishnu Dhara, who sold pickles and chilli sauce, failed to salvage anything even though his shop on the northern side of the market was only partially gutted. "Water that was used to douse the fire spoilt my entire stock," the trader said.