Defence canteen gutted in blaze

Goods worth crores were destroyed in a fire that engulfed the building housing the military canteen near Trinity Circle
Even before the Carlton Tower fire tragedy could fade from public memory, athree-storied building housing the military stores department, popularly known as the military canteen, located near Trinity Circle off M G Road caught fire on Tuesday noon. According to preliminary reports, goods worth around Rs 10 crore, including household items, consumables and electronic items, were destroyed in the blaze, which is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit on the second floor. There were no casualties.The military canteen stores supplies for serving and retired defence personnel throughout the country.Jija Harisingh, DG, Fire and Emergency Services, who visited the spot said the building caught fire because of the flammable materials stored there. “Though fire extinguishers were installed in the building, they were not enough to contain the fire,” she said. Insiders suspect foul play in the incident. Police commissioner Shankar Bidari said a case of accidental fire had been registered at the Halasur police station. “We will register a case under IPC 436 if any foul play is found during investigation,” he said.As many as 25 fire tenders were pressed into service and it took four hours to contain the blaze. The fire force was hampered in its work by the burnt plastic wrapping of the stored items, which made the dousing operations more difficult.Traffic was hit as no vehicle was allowed between the ASC Centre and Trinity Church from 3.30 pm to 7 pm, so as to allow for the movement of the fire tenders. This caused a major traffic jam on the road leading towards the old airport.