Durga Puja pandal in S Delhi burnt

A major fire broke out early on Friday at a Durga Puja pandal in south Delhi but there were no casualties, fire officials said.

A major fire broke out early on Friday at a Durga Puja pandal in south Delhi but there were no casualties, fire officials said.

HT Image

The fire broke out at about 4 am in a temporary structure built for the ongoing Durga Puja celebrations in Pocket 40 of Chittaranjan Park.

Seven fire tenders were pressed into service and the blaze was extinguished after 45 minutes.

"The fire could have spread to nearby houses as the pandal is centrally located and is close to houses all around it," a fire official said.

The cause of the fire is not known yet but the official added that the inferno spread from the kitchen area of the pandal where 'bhog' (holy offering) was being prepared for Maha Ashtrami puja on Friday.

The fire could have been caused by a short circuit, fire brigade officials said, as commercial stalls, electric lightings and other inflammable material ringed the pandal.

The Chittaranjan Park area is the hub of the Durga Puja celebrations in the capital and draws tens of thousands of people to it every day of the festival that ends on October 21 with the immersion of hundreds of the magnificent clay idols of Durga and her pantheon in the river Yamuna.