Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Satpura Bhawan fire has stirred up politics as well as blame game. An inquiry committee set up by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has begun to probe incident.
Since the probe committee has been asked to submit its report within three days, its members have started taking statements from officials working in Satpura Bhawan.
The fire has ignited a controversy between the officials of the Tribal Area Development Plans (TADP) and those of the health department posted in Satpura Bhawan.
According to sources, TADP officials said the blaze did not break out on the third floor.
They said it had actually occurred on the fourth floor and spread to the third floor because of the air-conditioner duct.
On the other hand, the officials of the health department said the fire broke out on the third floor and spread to the fourth floor.
They said had the officials of TADP tried to souse the flames immediately, the fire would not have spread to other parts of the building.
The officials of the health department feel that the municipal corporation and the police’s failure to take action in time caused a huge loss.
The health department suffered a big loss since the inferno consumed thousands of files containing important records of the department. The department does not have even copies of those documents.
The fire may have broken out in the TADP office, but it did not cause much loss to the department.
According to sources, most of the documents of TADP office are safe. Nevertheless, a few documents, related to the fund received from the Centre last year and how it was spent, were destroyed in the fire.
The allegations made by the Congress have forced both the departments to shirk off their responsibility.
The probe committee headed by additional chief secretary Rajesh Rajora has taken the samples of the room where the fire reportedly broke out.
Nevertheless, it is not possible for the committee to probe whether the blaze broke out on the third floor and spread to the fourth floor or it occurred at the fourth floor and spread to the third floor.
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