Fire at Kanshi Ram memorial in Lucknow

LUCKNOW - A fire broke out inside the Kanshi Ram memorial building here Saturday evening.

While officials were tight-lipped about the incident and the Rs.750-crore sprawling memorial was completely shut to the media, a thick cloud of smoke around the giant sized dome of the memorial gave the game away.

“It was a small fire on account of some electrical short-circuit,” a top official in the Mayawati government said. Preferring anonymity, the official said there were no casualties as the memorial was yet to be opened to public.

“No employee was inside the building when the mishap took place,” the official added.

The memorial, built on a 42-acre plot of land with an adjoining 60 acre eco-garden on land of the erstwhile district jail, was inaugurated March 15 this year by Chief Minister Mayawati.

Spread over 8,500 sq metres, the memorial building has the biggest steel dome (with a height of 54 metres) in the country.