Tripura: ‘Short-circuit’ burns down Puja pandal in Agartala

Agartala: A Durga Puja pandal in Ujan Abhoynagar, situated in the outskirts of Agartala city, was completely destroyed by a fire on Wednesday. The incident is said to have been caused by a short-circuit.

The structure on which the Durga idol was to be placed during the Puja days was also consumed by the raging fire.

The organisers of the community Puja, the Blood Sun club, have alleged that the delayed response from the Fire Department was responsible for the devastation caused by the fire.

However, firefighters have refuted these allegations, stating that they swung into action within one and a half minutes to extinguish the fire.

Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha expressed his concerns over the incident.

“I am deeply pained to hear that an under-construction Puja pandal of the Blood Sun club located in Ujan Abhoynagar suddenly caught fire,” Dr. Saha wrote on his social media handle, extending solidarity to the Puja organizers. He also appealed to the Puja organisers to follow all safety measures while carrying out construction work for the Puja.

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“I hope the Puja organisers will adhere to all safety protocols when construction work is underway all over the state,” he added. Sources said the unprecedented incident occurred when workers from Tripura’s government-owned power utility went to fix power issues in that particular area.

Later in the afternoon, Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, along with officials from the District Administration, visited the site and interacted with the Puja organisers.

Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath also visited the site, following the chief minister.

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