Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple sees third fire in 6 months

Two people suffered minor injuries when a major fire broke out at Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, said to be the richest Hindu temple in the world, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday morning. The fire gutted a warehouse used by India Post office to store parcels near the temple gate.  

Also read: Major fire accident in Mittai Theruvu, Kozhikode; situation under control; watch videos

The fire took over the building after locals reportedly burnt a garbage pile nearby. The  flames were brought under control immediately after 15 fire tenders reached the spot. 

The incident took place around 3.45 am. Guards monitoring CCTV cameras had initially noticed the fire. The fire was under control by 6.30 am.  

Fire and Rescue Services official said that the fire was started by waste burning outside the India Post building. The building had postal parcel bags. Apart from the India Post building, an office of Archaeology department was also damaged.

One security guard was injured. 

This was the third fire accident at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in six months. The temple is believed to have gold worth $22 billion. 

The total damage is not known yet. An inquiry was ordered by officials on Sunday.

Images of the incident showed the gutted godown.  

Kerala's devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran said an enquiry would be conducted by the district administration on the incident.

"A comprehensive fire audit of the area will be conducted," he said.

Earlier, the Fire and Rescue Services had conducted an audit in neighbouring areas, but the project was stalled due to lack of coordination among government departments. Many buildings near the temple lack fire safety measures. 

"There are many unauthorised constructions in the area. To make a comprehensive audit and its implementation, the departments concerned and political parties have to cooperate," said Thiruvananthapuram mayor VK Prasanth.

In August 2016, a major fire broke out near the temple in which a couple of shops were gutted.