Fire Breaks Out At Kashi Vishwanath Temple Due To Short Circuit, No Casualty Reported

Kashi Vishwanath temple management said that the 'Sparsh Darshan' was underway after the 'Mangala Aarti' when fire broke out in the complex. The devotees were evacuated and the darshan process was halted for a short time. No casualty or damage has been reported, an official said.

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): A fire broke out in the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex following a short circuit near a window of the sanctum sanctorum on Thursday morning, police said. No casualty was reported, they added.

The incident occurred after the 'Mangala Aarti' ended this morning. The flames were doused with the help of fire fighting equipment present at the spot. During which, devotees were shifted from the sanctum sanctorum so as to avoid any untoward incident. Presently, the temple administration is getting the wiring system of the temple examined.

According to eye witnesses, when the 'Sparsh Darshan' process was initiated in the sanctum sanctorum after the 'Mangala Aarti', flames were spotted near the window, through which electrical wires enter the sanctum sanctorum. The fire was triggered by a short circuit and since flames were seen engulfing from a very high position, there was a chaos inside the temple.

The police personnel posted in the complex evacuated the devotees and used the fire fighting equipment to control the fire.

The temple's SDM Shambhu Sharan said that the incident took place at around 4.55 am and the fire was controlled immediately. No damage or casualty was reported, he said.

Presently, efforts are on to investigate as to how the short circuit happened. "Some wires might have got damaged somewhere due to which the short circuit happened. The darshan process was halted for around five to 10 minutes as a precautionary measure. The wiring of every part of the temple is being checked so that such incidents do not recur in future," Sharan said.

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