Published 22:26 IST, March 30th 2020
BREAKING: Fire breaks out on 4th floor of Mantralaya; CM Uddhav confirms 'no casualties'
On Monday, a fire broke out on the fourth floor of Mantralaya in Mumbai. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray confirmed that no casualties had been reported.
On Monday, a fire broke out on the fourth floor of Mantralaya in Mumbai. Reported at around 8.29 pm, BEST Supply and fire services rushed to the spot. As per the preliminary information, the fire broke out due to a short circuit. Reacting to the development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray maintained that nothing would bring down the morale of the government. He revealed that all the staff including the security officials were safe and sound.
The GST Bhavan fire
The last occasion on which a fire broke out in a major government building was on February 17. There was a massive fire on the top floors of the GST Bhavan in Mumbai. The fire department was alerted at about 12.30 pm. Thereafter, all the employees were safely evacuated from the building. At least 30 fire tenders were deployed to control the blaze.
Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident. Finally, the fire was doused in a 6-hour long operation. Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi and other top officials visited the site. While many documents were burnt in the fire, Pawar revealed that their soft copies were still available. The cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained.
As per reports, a structural audit by the government in 2019 concluded that the 10th floor of the GST Bhavan was built illegally. Moreover, the building was more than 40 years old. As a result, the demolition of the illegal floor commenced nearly two months ago. Many employees had been relocated to the MTNL building in the vicinity. Subsequently, the Maharashtra CM felicitated Kunal Jadhav, an employee of the GST Bhavan for his act of patriotism. Jadhav had risked his life by going to the rooftop and saved the national flag from being burnt.
Updated 22:44 IST, March 30th 2020