Fire engulfs E India’s biggest electrical appliance hub on Ezra Street, traders peg total loss at 100cr
Times of India | 16 November 2025
Kolkata: An early morning blaze in Ezra Street — eastern India's largest hub for electrical goods — gutted several shops, warehouses, offices, and the city's first Parsi fire temple, causing losses estimated at over Rs 100 crore (including goods, property, documents, and the items inside the temple) on Saturday.
The blaze began a little after 5.30 am in a shop at 26 Ezra Street and spread rapidly through the congested commercial lane, affecting at least seven buildings before firefighters brought it under control around 12.30 pm. According to firemen, there was fire in some pockets till late on Saturday evening.
Witnesses spotted smoke billowing out of a shuttered shop and alerted local people. Since the markets were shut, there were no casualties, but the fire soon spread to neighbouring stores and godowns dealing in valuable electrical fittings, decorative lights, and cables.
Sunayana Yadav, 16, and her elder sister Sobha, 24, were both asleep when someone knocked on the door, alerting them by saying "aag lag gayi (there is a fire)". It was around 6 am. Both stayed on the top floor of the 9-storey building at 32 Ezra Street, adjacent to the Parsi fire temple. "The electricity was turned off, and we just managed to escape in the next 10 minutes. By then, the fire spread to our south block on the 4th floor, and the stairs were full of smoke," said Sunayana.
Both are granddaughters of the building's caretaker.
Officials from the fire department said the blaze spread from the first building to adjoining structures within half an hour, fuelled by large quantities of combustible stock stored inside multiple godowns and shops. Twenty-four fire engines took almost seven hours to bring the blaze under control. "The area is extremely congested, and a large number of vehicles were parked haphazardly.
Fire engines took time to reach the exact spot," said a senior fire department official.
"Corridors and passages inside some of the buildings were encroached, which delayed the movement of our firefighters." According to Abhijit Pandey, director of fire services, seven premises were impacted by the fire.
Hundreds of traders waited anxiously to get inside the different premises and check the condition of their shops.
According to the local business associations, around 330 shops, godowns, and offices have been gutted. "Some of the lights and fittings we sell are very expensive. I don't think anything is left in my shop. It is a huge setback to my business," said Mayur Jaiswal, who has a shop at 26 Ezra Street. Sk Anarul Islam, who has a 20-year-old decorative lights shop at the ill-fated 26 Ezra Street, rushed from his Panchla residence and reached Ezra Street around 7.30 am in the morning.
He said: "A fresh consignment from China arrived a few days back. I have lost goods worth around Rs 12 lakhs."
Fire minister Sujit Bose, who visited the spot, said an inquiry will be done to determine the source of the blaze and if there was any non-compliance. "The exact cause of the fire will be known after forensic examination," said Bose.
Local trade associations described the scale of damage as "unprecedented". "It is too early for a complete assessment, but preliminary estimates suggest losses of around Rs 100 crore," said Arvind Tiwary Baba, head of the publication committee of the Calcutta Electric Traders Association.