"We got information about the fire in shops near the 1,000 pillar mandapam in the temple. We rushed five fire tenders and controlled the fire from spreading," the senior fire service official told IANS over phone from Madurai, around 500 km from here.

He said around 10 shops were damaged in the fire.

"There is no damage for the temple. The old wooden door was saved by preventive action. The fire is now under control," he said