NEW DELHI: A massive fire that broke out within the premises of the Parliament this afternoon has been doused completely. The main Parliament House building was not affected by the blaze.
The fire began at around 2:20 pm at an air conditioning power plant, which is located on the periphery of the complex. Sources say the blaze is suspected to have been was triggered by sparks generated during welding work as part of maintenance checks of the ACs.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing above the red sandstone boundary wall of the Parliament complex as police tried to clear the streets around the building. There were just a handful of officials present inside Parliament at the time.
At least 10 fire engines and 30 fire services personnel were pressed into service to contain the fire from spreading.
“The first responder was a fire engine which is always stationed inside Parliament. After that, 10 more fire tenders were brought in. Fire was under control in 19 minutes,” AK Sharma, Director, Delhi Fire Service told NDTV.
Senior police officials were also present at the spot to investigate the cause of the fire.
Expressing serious concern over the massive fire, President Pranab Mukherjee “called upon authorities to conduct an urgent enquiry into the cause of the fire and take necessary steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.”
On March 19, a minor fire had broken out in the AC wiring at Gate 5 of the Parliament complex.
