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Eighteen private buses were gutted in a fire at SV Coach Works, a bus-building workshop near PES University in south Bengaluru, Monday. This is the third major fire incident in Bengaluru in recent days.
The fire triggered blasts in the diesel tanks of vehicles, creating panic among residents in the neighbourhood. The smoke billowing out of the bus workshop was visible from a distance of a few kilometres.
A police officer said, “There were no fire safety measures at the workshop. The owner has been identified as Srinivas and he is absconding.
“The fire started from one bus and later spread to others. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the fire.”
More than seven fire tenders and 80 firefighters were pressed into service to douse the fire. About 20 employees at the workshop initially tried to douse the fire but failed.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar visited the workshop in the afternoon. “I have asked the fire department and the police to submit reports in this regard. It is necessary to be cautious in all government and private places and we will issue a warning to all of them to look into fire safety,” he said.
It can be recalled that on October 18, a fire broke out in Mudpipe cafe in Koramangala. The probe revealed that gas leakage caused an explosion leading to the fire.
In another incident on October 28, a fire broke out at the Haj Bhavan building located on Thanisandra Main Road. While there were no casualties, an official in the department said the fire caused damages to the tune of Rs 3 crore.
