Massive fire in Parliament

President calls for urgent probe

New Delhi (PTI): A major fire broke out at the AC plant inside the Parliament complex in Delhi on Sunday while welding work was underway gutting the unit and affecting air conditioning in the main building and it took ten fire engines to douse the flames in about 30 minutes.

Delhi fire service chief AK Sharma said prima facie it appeared to be a case of negligence as laid down safety norms were not followed in the maintenance work. The fire department got a call at fire at 2:21pm and ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately to bring the blaze under control. There were no injuries, fire officials said.

Thick black smoke was seen billowing above the red sandstone boundary wall of the 88-year-old Parliament complex as the flames raged just a few hundred metres away from the main building which suffered no damage.Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had gone on a month-long break on Friday.

Police said that they will enquire into the cause and circumstances of the incident and responsibility will be fixed. "We have initiated an enquiry into the matter. We will look into all aspects including the cause and circumstances of the fire and take action against those found responsible," Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) MK Meena said.Home ministry has sought a report on the incident.

President Pranab Mukherjee also expressed serious concern over the fire and asked for an urgent enquiry into its cause. This was the second case of fire inside the complex in the last couple of days as a minor fire was reported in the AC wiring at gate number 5 on Thursday.Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan called for a report on the incident. She also ordered for a thorough checking of the existing wiring, fittings and electrical equipment.