Assam CM Sonowal orders inquiry into 'Janata Bhawan' fire incident

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday directed GAD Secretary Guru Dutta Laskar to conduct an inquiry into the fire incident at the Assam Government Secretariat (popularly known as Janata Bhawan) in Dispur.

In a meeting with senior officials, the Chief Minister reviewed the fire incident that took place yesterday, and also called for new measures to ensure that such mishaps can be averted in the foreseeable future. Sonowal has ordered the setting up of a 24x7 Control Room in the Secretariat as a precautionary measure to prevent such incidents in Assam's main seat of power. Sonowal has also called for "single switching" in all the blocks at the Secretariat.

On June 7, a fire broke out in Block-B of the Assam Secretariat at Dispur, prompting minister Himanta Biswa Sharma to rush to the site. Several fire tenders were deployed to the area to douse the flames.

Confirming the fire incident, state chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna in a tweet on Tuesday said there was nothing to worry as the fire that broke out in the Secretariat was not "big". "Nothing to worry, there is no big fire in Secretariat. Someone left the fan on in Block-B and that led to heat and small fire which was immediately doused. No loss!", Sanjay Krishna wrote in a tweet.

Although there were reports of several important documents burning down in the fire, it has not been confirmed by any of the Government officials. The Chief Secretary, when posited with a query in this regard on Twitter, said, "nothing as reported" had been damaged in the Janata Bhawan fire incident.

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