The Hindu : New Delhi News : Durga Puja pandal in CR Park gutted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 20, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Durga Puja pandal in CR Park gutted

Staff Reporter

Loss pegged at over Rs.50 lakh
Cause of the fire not known yet

After the fire: The gutted Durga Puja pandal.

NEW DELHI: A popular Durga Puja pandal in Pocket 40 of Chittranjan Park here was gutted in a major fire that broke out in the early hours of Friday. Though no one was injured, property worth lakhs was gutted.

The fire broke out in the Navapalli Puja Samiti Pandal soon after the devotees left for their homes around 3-30 a.m. to make preparations for “Ashtami”. Fire tenders took around 40 minutes to put out the blaze, a Fire Service Department official said. “ The fire was first spotted behind the idol of the deity and it soon engulfed the whole pandal. We immediately called the Fire Service Department and help reached within 10 minutes,” said Samiti president Utpal Ghosh.

The loss of property has been pegged at over Rs.50 lakh by the Samiti members. “By the time the fire tenders reached the spot, we had ripped the pandal into two to prevent the fire from spreading. We managed to save about a dozen stalls. Cars parked around the park were also damaged,” said Mr. Ghosh.

The cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately, though police said it could have been caused by an electric short-circuit.

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