Chandigarh: Fire breaks out at HC bar room, loss pegged at Rs 35 lakh

A fire broke out at the Punjab and Haryana High Court early Monday morning. Important files, furniture and office materials were destroyed and the estimated damage was pegged at about Rs 35 lakh.

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The fire occurred around 5:20 am in the women advocates’ bar room near Gate No. 5. The fire brigade was alerted promptly. Two fire tenders — one each from Sector 11 and Sector 17 — were dispatched to the site. Firefighters took about 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

According to the fire officials, a suspected short-circuit in the air-conditioner wire in the bar room triggered the fire. The room was completely gutted. It also caused damage to two adjacent rooms, members of the Bar Association confirmed.

President of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association Sartej Singh Narula rushed to the court premises soon after receiving information about the incident.

The estimated damage is pegged at about Rs 35 lakh. The Bar Association also stated that all necessary restoration measures were being undertaken to resume normal functioning at the bar room at the earliest. The members have been requested to contribute funds for the restoration of the room.

No one was present there at the time of the incident. An inquiry has been ordered to fix accountability and ensure stricter measures to prevent such incidents in the future.