Fire breaks out at Nainital's Old London House, second incident in two months

A fire broke out at colonial-era Old London House in Uttarakhand's Nainital, making it a second such incident at the 162-year-old heritage building in the last two months.

According to police, the incident happened at around 2.30 am on Monday, in the same portion of the building that had barely survived the previous fire.

On August 27, a raging fire engulfed the building, killing 82-year-old Shanta Bisht.

The fire department was immediately informed after high flames were seen rising from the Old London House, located at Mohanko Square in the Mallital area. It took firefighters over an hour to control the blaze, the police said.

A furniture shop, located on the ground floor of the building, also caught fire, burning goods worth lakhs of rupees to ashes, they said.

The cause of the fire is still unclear, but preliminary investigations suggest a short circuit as the cause, the police said.

According to locals, fire engines arrived at the scene, but like last time, the fire pump lacked water pressure, making it difficult for firefighters to control the blaze.

Pawan Vyas, who, along with neighbours, helped extinguish the fire, said that if the fire pump had sufficient pressure, the fire could have been brought under control in a short time and major damage could have been avoided.

Shanta Bisht, who died in the August 27 blaze at the heritage building was the sister of renowned environmentalist and historian Ajay Rawat.

Now, two months later, a fire in the same building on Diwali has sparked numerous discussions. Locals are also concerned about such repeated incidents in the same building.

Mallital SHO Hem Chandra Pant said that the police have begun investigating the cause of the incident.

If any suspicious activity is found, necessary legal action will be taken against the culprits, he said.

The Old London House building was built in 1863, when Nainital was developed as the summer capital of the United Provinces, an administrative division of British India.

It is among the many magnificent buildings constructed here during that period.