Punjabi University’s examination building catches fire; records gutted | Amritsar News – Times of India

PATIALA: The examination building on the Punjabi University campus in Patiala caught fire on Thursday morning. The exact cause of fire was yet to be ascertained.
The fire engulfed the second and third floor of the examination building following which the fire tenders were called at 7.30am.
The firefighters managed to douse the blaze after three hours.
The university officials formed two separate probe committees to investigate the incident and to assesse the losses of the official records kept in the building.
Sources revealed that thousands of documents were gutted in the fire, including the MA and B. Ed set that comprised a major chunk of the manual records. The university examination branch officials remained mum on the incident.
“Within three hours, we managed to douse the flames. As the fire broke out, the smoke engulfed the building thus making it difficult for the firemen to reach inside following which some window panes were broken to allow the smoke to come out of the building”, said Surinder Kumar, assistant divisional fire officer.
Daljit Ami, director, public relations at Punjabi University, said, “The assessment of the losses is being done but a huge record was burnt to ashes. Two committees have been formed including the one, comprising the examination branch faculty members, to assess the damages. So far, no comments can be made over the reasons behind the fire. None of the university guards fainted or fell unconscious in the incident.”