Old Assam secretariat gutted in fire

Guwahati, Sep 17 (UNI) The old Assam secretariat was gutted in a devastating fire this evening, damaging the office chambers of at least three ministers and four parliamentary secretaries.

The fire was first noticed at around 1800 hours and it took nearly an hour to bring it under control.

The old secretariat houses those ministers who would soon move to the new block of the Secretariat.

The Chief Information Commissioner's office bore the maximum brunt as his office was completely destroyed.

Assam Revenue minister Dr Bhumidhar Burman said the fire was caused due to short circuit.

Dr Burman's own chamber was also damaged in the fire.

Two years back another fire had damaged a section of the building. As almost ninety per cent of the occupant moved to the new and bigger blocks of the Assam secretariat, the damage building was in a dilapidated condition.

UNI MT KK DB1955