CM Chouhan seeks help from Centre and Defence Ministry
Ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, a massive fire has been on for more than 15 long hours in the multi-storied building Satpura Bhawan, which is one of the buildings housing various government offices in MP’s capital city, Bhopal. Amid the intensive ablaze, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has dialled Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking support from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to douse the blaze. Special IAF aircraft will fly to Bhopal tonight to help douse the fire.
PM Modi assured possible help from the Centre
Moreover, the chief minister has also dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the fire and the ongoing rescue operations. PM Modi assured the Chief Minister of all possible help from the Centre.
The building was evacuated in time and no one was injured.
What happened in Satpura Bhawan?
Taking notes from the incident, the sources said that the fire started around 4 pm on the third floor of the government building, housing the regional office of the Tribal Welfare Department. From the third floor, the fire had spread fast to three upper floors. As the raging inferno came in contact with air conditioners and some gas cylinders, there were multiple blasts.
All the offices located there bore the brunt of the fire, including the health department office, where files have been destroyed, the sources added.
Def Minister Singh directed Air Force to reach Bhopal
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has directed the Air Force to use AN-32 aircraft and MI-15 choppers to reach Bhopal. Sources said the Air Force would try to extinguish and douse the fire by pouring water from the top of the Satpura building with buckets.
CM Shivraj Chouhan is personally monitoring the progress of the fire-fighting operations of Satpura Bhawan.
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Probe panel formed by CM Chouhan
Further, the chief minister has also formed a probe panel, comprising the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Principal Secretary (Urban Development), Principal Secretary (PWD) and ADG (Fire) to look into the cause of the fire.
The sources added that three departments were housed on the affected floors of the Satpura building — Tribal Welfare Department, the Transport Department and the Health Department.
