A fire broke out in the central dome of the Ambedkar Park in Noida, an ambitious project for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, on Tuesday afternoon. Nobody was injured in the incident and the blaze was doused in about two hours.
According to the Noida police, the fire was detected around 12.45 pm following which five fire tenders were pressed into service. While the blaze was brought under control in about 30 minutes, it was completely doused only after two hours, the police said.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the fire may have been caused due to a spark while welding was going on in the central dome area. Smoke billowing through the central dome could be seen from a long distance. The police said that the thermocol pasted on the walls of the dome caught fire that may have been triggered by a callously thrown bidi by some of the workers. However, the workers claimed that a spark from a welding machine led to the fire. At the time of the incident, at least 100 workers were on the spot. However, none of them was injured as they came out of the dome area in time. It is to be noted that work on the Ambedkar Park, a project costing nearly `650 crore, had resumed only recently after the Supreme Court gave clearance to it.