Six-member panel formed to probe Hyderabad fire accident

Hyderabad, May 20 (IANS) The Telangana government has constituted a six-member committee of senior officials to probe fire accident near Charminar, which claimed 17 lives.

The committee has been asked to conduct an investigation and submit a report on the cause of the fire and the action taken by various departments for rescue and relief.

The government has also asked the panel to suggest measures to be taken to prevent such accidents in future. Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who is in-charge minister for Hyderabad, on Tuesday announced the committee.

It comprises Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHM) Commission R. V. Karnan, Hyderabad Collector Anudeep Durishetty, Hyderabad Police Commissioner C. V. Anand, Director General of Fire Services Nagi Reddy, Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner A. V. Ranganath, and Chairman and Managing Director of Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) Musharraf Ali Faruqui.

After receiving the committee's report, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will hold a review meeting with top officials to decide on measures to be taken to prevent such accidents.

The Chief Minister on Sunday ordered a thorough probe into the fire in a building at Gulzar Houz near Charminar.

CM Reddy stressed that preventive measures should be taken to prevent such fire accidents in the future, and awareness should also be created among people.

The fire broke out in the building, which had shops on the ground floor, while the family of the trader was staying on the two upper floors.

Deputy Chief Minister Vikramarka and Ponnam Prabhakar visited the accident site the same day.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao, who consoled the family of the deceased on Monday, found fault with the Chief Minister for neither visiting the accident site nor holding a review meeting following the tragedy.

--IANS

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