The pandal of SK Puri Durga Puja Samiti on Boring Road in Patna that caught fire on Monday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Sept. 26: A Durga Puja pandal in the heart of the city caught fire today following a short-circuit in electricity wires barely a few inches from its bamboo structure.

The Telegraph had reported yesterday that several pandals were being erected in violation of norms set for Puja organisers by the fire department and the electricity board.

Sources said a portion on the top half of the pandal, coming up in front of Yamuna Apartment on the crowded Boring Road, caught fire by sparks triggered by the short-circuit in the 440 volt wires. “The residents panicked to see the ceiling of the pandal afire around 8.30am. Within minutes, police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot. The fire was doused within 10 minutes,” said a police officer.

The SK Puri Durga Puja Samiti pandal on Boring Road is among many such structures that are in the final stage and have come up very close to electricity wires. Eyewitnesses said the accident could have been major if it were not raining. The Boring Road Puja organisers claimed that the fire damaged property worth over Rs 50,000.

“We think the strong morning wind caused the short-circuit. Since the distance between the pandal and the wires is too less, the structure caught fire. Fortunately, the fire was doused within minutes. But we will have to spend over Rs 50,000 to construct a new ceiling,” said Ramesh Singh, the general secretary of SK Puri Durga Puja Samiti.

Singh held the electricity department responsible for the accident. He said: “We had asked the department to remove the wires. But they did nothing. Perhaps they were waiting for such an accident.”

The Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), however, rejected Singh’s contention. H. R. Pandey, the spokesperson of BSEB, said: “We had issued security guidelines for the Puja organisers and asked them to construct pandals at least 15ft away from the wires. But the SK Puri Durga Puja Samiti pandal was barely a few inches away from livewires. Besides, how can they expect us to remove the permanent electricity wires?”

The state fire services, on the other hand, expressed helplessness over such accidents. “Our team doused the fire on Boring Road within a few minutes. Four years ago, a pandal on Boring Canal Road was gutted within 10 minutes in a similar accident,” state fire officer Ramesh Chandra said.