Fire at Forest Minister Ganesh Naik's official bungalow Pavan Gad in Mumbai, no one seriously hurt

A fire broke out suddenly today at Pavan Gad, the official bungalow of Forest Minister Ganesh Naik in Mumbai. Naik is counted among the senior leaders of the Cabinet. The accident is said to have been caused by a short circuit in an air conditioner. Thick plumes of smoke were seen coming out of the bungalow.

Fire fighters reached the spot immediately on getting news of the blaze and began efforts to douse it. Two to three fire engines came initially, and four were later deployed as efforts to bring the fire under control continued. A large police contingent is also posted at the spot. The fire is being described as a Level 1 fire.

Ganesh Naik was not in the bungalow when the fire broke out. Other staff were there, however. Diwali holidays are on and all employees are on leave. This is why no one was seriously hurt, according to information received.

Pavan Gad is one of the official residences opposite Mantralaya. Several ministers' official bungalows and political party offices are in the same area. The bungalows of ministers such as Aditi Tatkare, Nitesh Rane, Sachin Ahir and Dada Bhuse are here. The offices of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) are also located here. The sudden fire caused panic in this area, which is considered extremely important politically.

There is no clear information yet on how much damage the fire has caused to the bungalow. The exact cause of the fire is being investigated. Whether the AC short circuit was indeed the cause will also be examined. Further details of the incident are awaited.

There have been fires in government buildings earlier too. The biggest was on June 21, 2012, when a massive fire broke out at Mantralaya in Mumbai. That fire started from a short circuit in the fourth-floor cabin of the then minister Babanrao Pachpute.

In that fire, the offices of the then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the Deputy Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary were completely gutted. Thousands of files and important documents were destroyed. The Mantralaya building also suffered heavy damage.