By TNM staff
A major fire broke out in the yet to be inaugurated new secretariat complex in Telangana on Friday, February 3. Plastic material lying on the ground floor is believed to be the cause of the fire, as the fire started from there. Almost 11 fire engines have reached the spot and the Fire Services Director General is overseeing the situation.
According to Telangana fire control room, the fire accident occurred at 2:20 am on Friday. "The fire began on the ground floor of the building and the exact cause is not yet known. The fire station was near BRK Bhavan, so swift action was taken and additional fire engines were brought in to control the fire. There is not much loss as the building is still in construction phase,” the control room stated.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is scheduled to inaugurate the new Secretariat on February 17, on the occasion of his birthday. KCR had laid the foundation stone for the construction of the new Secretariat building at the existing location near Hyderabad’s Hussain Sagar lake in June 2019.
The complex is coming up in about seven lakh square feet. It has all modern amenities, and entailed a cost of more than Rs 600 crore to construct. Despite the foundation stone being laid in 2019, the work was delayed due to pending cases in the High Court as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The old Secretariat was last demolished in 2020, over KCR’s plans to construct a brand new secretariat. Despite opposition from many environmentalists and heritage activists that the existing buildings could be repaired instead, the Chief Minister went ahead with his plans.