Fire rages in Civil Secretariat, Zum Zum Hotel 17 Offices, 6 rooms gutted At least seventeen government offices were gutted completely after a major fire broke out in premises of the Civil Secretariat Srinagar. Five persons were reportedly injured when they were trying to douse off the flames. Fire also broke out at Hotel Zum Zum, Rambagh Srinagar with five to six rooms damaged completely. Official sources told Global News Service that today morning minutes before the scheduled opening of the secretariat offices, flames and smoke started bulging from the two-storey wooden structure building adjacent to the main building of the Civil Secretariat. According to the officials, the locals after noticing theflames came out of the school building immediately and informed police which rushed to the spot along with fire tenders. The fire was brought under control but not before large scale damage to the building. The building consisting of 17 rooms gutted completely in the fire. The gutted building housed 17 offices which include education department, estates department and medical dispensary. However, the cause of the fire was not ascertained yet. In another similar incident, about five to six rooms were completely damaged after fire broke out at HotelZum Zum in Rambagh Srinagar. The fire fighters immediately reached the spot and brought fire under control. Police has registered the cases in both the incidents and started its investigation. Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today rushed from a function at Gulab Bagh to Civil Secretariat to inspect the gutted wooden block housing Higher Education, Cooperative, Technical Education and other offices. Taking first hand appraisal of the fire incident and receiving brief from the topbrass administration including Director General Fire Services, G M Bhat, Chief Minister gave directions for putting in place emergent measures to save the retrieved records and to house the gutted offices.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 05:54:22 +0000