20200309 Alert watchmen put out fire at Srirangam temple
India Mar 10 2020 “Building” “Other bldg.”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Alert watchmen put out fire at Srirangam temple
Updated: 2020–03–10
TRICHY: Watchmen at Srirangam Arulmigu Ranganathaswamy temple put out a minor fire that broke out at the prasada stall at Garuda Mandapam during the early hours of Monday. Though the fire was doused before spreading further, it exposed the vulnerability of the temple to fire accidents.
Sources said that around 3.30 am, six watchmen appointed by the HR&CE department who were on duty at the corridors noticed smoke emanating from the prasada stall. The watchmen and temple workers doused the fire using fire extinguishers and water immediately. The prasada stall was leased to private parties. Wooden furniture and edible items worth lakhs of rupees were gutted.
The temple workers did not immediately alert the local fire service station at Srirangam as it would take time for them to reach the spot. Instead, the workers managed to douse the flames by themselves. The gamble could have been costly if the fire had spread to the vehicle shed at Garuda Mandapam adjacent to the prasada stall where the procession vehicles of the deity Lord Namperumal are stationed. The timely efforts of temple workers prevented further loss. Electrical short-circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire, temple officials said.
The incident happened two years after the major fire at the Veera Vasantharayar Mandapam of Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple has shaken the Srirangam residents. The fire has baffled the devotees as well as the management as several rounds of safety audits had been carried out by the Tamil Nadu police (security) at the temple.
“Electrical wiring has to be checked frequently. The fire might be minor, but the incident at the worshipping place has saddened us,” T Santhanakrishnan, a resident of Srirangam, said. After the fire accident at Madurai temple on February 2, 2018, the HR&CE department at the Srirangam temple said that adequate fire extinguishers were positioned at the spots as suggested in the safety audit. “Srirangam police were alerted, and an inquiry will be conducted by the temple management to ascertain the cause of the fire accident. There was no damage to the structures,” an HR&CE source said.
Web Source: The times of India