Renovation work starts at Mantralaya in Mumbai

Mumbai, June 23 (ANI): Renovation work started at the Mantralaya here on Saturday, two days after a major fire claimed five lives there.

The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the secretariat building on Thursday, and spread to the sixth floor which houses the office of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Workers were seen on scaffoldings around the building to reconstruct damaged portions of the secretariat.

State's Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam, who was also a victim of the blaze shared his experience with the reporters.

"We were in the waiting hall while the meeting was in progress when suddenly smoke started filling up the room. Assuming that the people inside the meeting are unaware of the fire, I walked inside and informed that there might be a blaze. Soon his security personnel evacuated him, immediately after which, the smoke started filling the room really fast. The next thing we know is that there was a power cut and doors got jammed," Kadam said. (ANI)