A massive fire broke out at Mangala Haat, one of the largest garment markets in eastern India, here in West Bengal's Howrah district in the early hours of Friday, police said.

No casualty has been reported so far, a senior officer said.

Many wholesale and retail cloth shops in the market, where textiles are traded, were burnt to ashes.

“It is not yet known how the fire started. Initially, 12 fire tenders were pressed into service. Later six more were engaged in dousing the blaze,” the police officer said.

The blaze is nearly under control, a fire department official said.

The amount of damage is expected to be several lakhs of rupees.

Howrah Police Station is close to Mangala Haat. Policemen informed the fire brigade about the incident noticing flames at around 1 am.

The fire spread quickly as the shops made of bamboo and wood were full of large quantities of clothes. The fire department official said the blaze spread over an area of about 5,000 square feet.

Police personnel in large numbers have been deployed in the area, around one and a half kilometres from the Howrah railway station.

Traders reached the spot and demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for their rehabilitation.

“The market was gutted earlier in 1987. We faced a hard time to reorganise things. We have lost everything once again. The chief minister should intervene,” one of the traders said.

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