MUMBAI: A fire broke out at the official residence of state forest minister Ganesh Naik at 11.43 am on Wednesday, sending large clouds of smoke into the air in the high-security area at Nariman Point, where the state secretariat and state legislature are also located.
The fire department says a short-circuit in the air-conditioning system is suspected to have triggered the Level I fire, which was extinguished in an hour.
Naik and his family live in Navi Mumbai and were not in the 2,668-sq ft bungalow called ‘Pawangad’ when the fire broke out. Only a few employees were present and none was injured.
Around seven fire engines, water tankers and quick response vehicles – compact, minivan-sized vehicles with 500-litre water tanks – were rushed to the site to bring the fire under control.
The state public works department, which maintains the ministers’ bungalows, will prepare a report on the damage caused by the blaze. The state government has allotted 19 bungalows to its ministers opposite Mantralaya, the state secretariat, and 19 others at Malabar Hill.
