Antyodaya Bhawan evacuated after fire

Entry to the Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan in CGO complex here has been stopped till further notice and the electricity supply cut after a fire gutted the fifth floor office of the Disability Division of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

"Employees and other people working here were asked to vacate the building. All the official meetings have been cancelled," Bala, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on security duty, told IANS.

There is no information when the work will resume, the CISF personnel added.

The fire that broke out around 8.30 a.m on Wednesday was brought under control by around 10.05 a.m. However, all documents and government data were destroyed in the fire.

A CISF Sub-Inspector, who was found unconscious in the building was declared dead on arrival at a hospital.

The electricity supply of the building has been also cut indefinitely for the safety reasons, he added.

Besides Disability Division, the building houses important central government offices, including a branch of the Indian Air Force, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Forest.

--IANS

som-rak