Hyderabad: Fire broke out in the under construction Secretariat building in Hyderabad in the wee hours of Friday. The new Secretariat building is being readied for inauguration on February 17, which coincides with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s birthday. However, there were no casualties reported.
Over 11 fire-fighting engines reached the place and brought the situation under control. Media was denied entry to the premises. Construction work was expedited with the date of inauguration approaching fast.
According to information, electrical works were in progress and some plastic material dumped in the ground floor caught fire. Shapoorji-Pallonji was awarded the contract of the Rs 600-crore swanky building.
At 3 am, flames erupted from the ground floor and soon spread to the other floors. Reportedly, KCR has been considering the construction of the Secretariat as a prestigious project and reviewing the progress of the works constantly.
State BJP President Bandi Sanjay blamed the fire accident on the poor quality of work and haste with which construction was executed.
Terming it an unfortunate incident, the BJP leader demanded the inaugural be postponed. Instead of inaugurating Secretariat on Chief Minister's birthday as planned, the BJP leader said it should be inaugurated on Ambedkar's birthday on April 14.
TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy said projecting the mishap as a mock drill is not correct. He demanded an all-party delegation to be allowed to visit the spot for a fact finding.
