Venkaiah Naidu briefs President on fire in Parliament complex

New Delhi, March 26: President Pranab Mukherjee was on Thursday briefed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on the fire incident that occurred in Parliament House Complex on March 22 [Fire in Parliament: President Pranab Mukherjee calls for urgent probe]

The fire-related incident occurred in the cooling towers of AC plant of the complex last Sunday. Delhi Police are inquiring into the incident.

The President was informed that a joint study of fire safety of the Parliament House by a multi-disciplinary team will be completed by April 10 this year.

The President was also given the details of works relating to replacement of pipes in the cooling towers when the fire occurred.

Naidu has convened a meeting of Secretaries of the Ministries of Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development besides senior officials of Lok Sabha secretariat, Central Public Works Department, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police and the Union Home Ministry yesterday.

Various aspects of the fire incident and the general fire safety of the Parliament House Complex were discussed in the meeting.

It was decided in the meeting that a multi-disciplinary team of representatives of Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police, Lok Sabha Secretariat, CPWD and the Home Ministry will undertake a holistic study of all aspects of fire safety of Parliament House and will submit a report by April 10, 2015 for further consideration and necessary action.

Naidu has asked the all concerned agencies to ensure that no such incidents recurred. Naidu also apprised Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan of the discussions and the decisions taken yesterday.

PTI