Bhopal: Movements of the trains were disrupted for a few hours following fire at Itarsi Railway junction. Fire broke out at canteen kitchen situated on Platform no-1 and soon spread to other areas. The fire gutted canteen, deputy office, operating office and other wings in old building. No casualty was reported, but property loss has been estimated at Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
DRM Sobhan Chaudhary said that fire erupted at 4 pm in old buildings at platform no-1 and spread to other areas. In view of the safety of the passengers and visitors, the train traffic was stopped for a short duration. Immediately fire fighters which were arranged from local civic body, Hoshangabad and ordinance factory were pressed to put off the fire, said DRM. Within couple of hours the fire was brought under control and the train movement was resumed.
Itarsi SDM RS Baghel said that fire fighters were called from Hoshangabad, local Ordinance factory, and teams of local fire brigades were pressed to douse the fire. Local water tankers were also pressed into job to ensure water availability. We pressed entire machinery including civic body, railway, district administration in bringing down the fire.
However, he claimed that train traffic has been resumed and was temporarily stopped while machinery was pressed into putting off the blaze. Railway immediately restored the suspended traffic, Baghel added. In 2015, a major fire had engulfed the railway junction causing loss to the tune of Rs 1000 crore to the railways The inferno had destroyed the Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) cabin.