JOIN USA massive fire at the AC plant in the Parliament Complex on Sunday afternoon gutted the unit and affected the air conditioning in the main building.
Fire officers said negligence in following safety norms while carrying out maintenance work at the AC unit appeared to have led to the fire.
Low footfall at Parliament owing the weekly holiday, however, ensured that was were no casualty: The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had gone on a month-long break since Friday.
The flames were doused in about 30 minutes, and it took an additional hour to control the smoke. Thick black fumes were seen billowing above the walls of the 88-year-old Parliament Complex. The main Parliament building, located a few hundred metres from the burning AC unit, suffered no damage.
This is the second incident of fire reported from the Parliament premises over the past four days. A minor fire was reported in the AC wiring at the Parliament’s gate number 5 on Thursday. President Pranab Mukherjee took to Twitter to express “serious concerns” over the incident. “Authorities concerned should conduct urgent enquiry into the cause of the fire,” read one of his tweets concerning the incident.