Bhopal Satpura Bhawan fire: A massive fire that broke out at 'Satpura Bhawan' building in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal has been doused off today (June 13) morning after several hours of continuous operation by the CISF, Indian Army, and other agencies.
Satpura Bhawan has offices of various departments of the state government on Monday (June 12). No casualties have been reported in the blaze as people were safely evacuated before the fire spread. The fire started on the third floor at around 4:00 pm and spread up to the sixth floor.
"The fire has been brought under control. All agencies including CISF, Army came together to douse the fire and it has been controlled," said Ashish Singh, District Collector, Bhopal.
The building houses offices of various departments of the Madhya Pradesh government, prompting authorities to call in fire tenders from Army, AAI and facilities of oil companies, officials and the chief minister's office said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah about the fire and sought assistance for dousing it, an official said. The prime minister has assured Chouhan of all possible assistance from the Centre for controlling the blaze, the official said.
Rescue work:
Indian Air Force plane AN-52 and MI-15 chopper will join the dousing operation in the night and will pour water using buckets from above, according to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). On directions of Chouhan, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra and the medical education minister reached the spot to take stock of the situation, the official said.
The fire, which has affected the third, fourth, fifth and the top sixth floor of the building and the terrace can be seen from various areas of the city. The affected building is located on a hill in front of the state government secretariat, Vallabh Bhawan.
Officials said the fire has destroyed furniture and documents of several departments. Fire tenders and firefighters from the Army, Indian Oil Corporation, BPCL, Airports Authority of India, BHEL, and from Mandideep and Raisen were called in, the Chief Minister's Office said.
District Collector Ashish Singh said all resources have been mobilised and around 22 fire tenders and 30-40 tankers are involved in the dousing operation as of now. He said the fire spread as there are many files stored in the building and firemen can't enter due to heavy smoke. The density of the fire is very high. No casualty has been reported, Singh added.
Political 'mercury' rises after Satpura Bhawan fire:
At a time when the state machinery is dealing with a massive fire at Satpura Bhawan in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, the incident seems to have also charged up political atmosphere in the state with the opposition Congress launching a series of allegations against the ruling BJP government.
Congress MLA Jitu Patwari wrote over Twitter, "This is our health directorate. It is operated from the Satpura Bhawan in the state capital Bhopal. Today it caught fire again."
He further wrote, "CM Chouhan, my direct question is, whether the fire breaks out or has it been set? Because it is generally believed that the government does such 'action' to destroy the evidence before the elections. Now, the BJP should also tell who were the culprits in the old fire-incident fire incident. How many people were punished?"
On the other hand, former Pradesh Congress Committee President (PCC) Chief Arun Yadav tweeted, "Today, when Priyanka Gandhi attacked regarding the scams while addressing in Jabalpur, a huge fire broke out in the Satpura Bhawan in which important files were burnt to ashes."
"Whether it is a conspiracy to burn the documents of scams on the pretext of fire? This fire incident is indicating a change in Madhya Pradesh," he further wrote on Twitter. The fire broke out at around 4.00 pm in the office of the Tribal Welfare Department operating on the third floor of the building.
The reason for the fire is suspected to be a short circuit in the AC, however, an inquiry will be done into the incident. As the fire spread, all the officers and employees in the department were taken out safely in time, due to which no casualty occurred.
(With agencies inputs)
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