Panic at Northeast exhibition as cylinder explodes

A Major fire broke out on the lawns of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

A Major fire broke out on the lawns of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) on Tuesday evening,bringing the ongoing North-East Theatre Festival and Exhibition to an abrupt halt. The fire broke out in the open-air food court area,where at least 15 stalls were erected close to each other,around 6.45 pm.

Sources said the fire originated from a short circuit,which further resulted in a cylinder explosion at one of the stalls. In a matter of minutes,the entire area was engulfed in flames. We already had one fire tender stationed at the spot,but we sent two more to douse the flames, a fire service official said.

Nobody was injured as the place was evacuated as soon as the incident occurred. The fire spread rapidly as the tents were made of jute,which is inflammable in nature,sources said.

The Northeast Theatre,Exhibition,Craft and Textile Workshop was inaugurated at IGNCA on April 2,and is expected to continue till the end of the month.

It will showcase the various facets of the Northeast region,including its cuisines,art,craft,dance and fashion. Over 300 theatre artistes are expected to perform through the duration of the festival.

About 150 guests were waiting outside the play venue,awaiting the start of the days performances,when the fire broke out. Two plays Lichabas daughter of Nagaland and Longtoraini Ekolobya of Tripura were scheduled for the day.

However,we did not want to continue the performance as there was a lot of water and slush,and there were wires running across the ground. We will reassess safety measures once again and take a decision on setting up food stalls after ensuring that all loopholes have been covered, said Professor Mauli Kauhsik,director,IGNCA.

The festival will resume at 11 am on Wednesday.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
accident
IGNCA