A massive fire at Delhi’s National Museum of Natural History in the early hours of Tuesday destroyed an entire collection of invaluable flora and fauna.
More than 50 fire tenders were pressed into service to control the blaze. Smoke from the building kept bellowing even 12 hours after the fire was reported.
The museum, in existence since 1978, operates from a rented six-storey building belonging to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI), at Mandi House in Central Delhi.
Atul Garg, Additional Director, Delhi Fire Services, told The Hindu that the building did not have a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department and its fire fighting system was also not functioning. The cause of the fire is so far unknown.
Senior fire officers feared that the upper portion of the building might collapse due the damage caused by the fire. They said it was unlikely that anyone, apart from the fire fighters and the police, would be allowed inside the museum till Thursday.
According to a PTI report, the Delhi Police have registered a case under Section 436 of IPC (mischief caused by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) against unnamed persons in connection with the fire at the museum.
As the fire started only after midnight, when only a few security guards and a couple of labourers were present in the area, there was no civilian casualty. However, five fire fighters were hospitalised after they complained of “asphyxiation”.
The affected fire fighters were admitted to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and discharged after treatment, Mr Garg said.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar visited the site and ordered a fire audit of all 34 museums in the country that come under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
The Minister said the loss could not be quantified, but an attempt to assess the damage will be made soon. “We will assess the loss and see how we can restore it,” Mr. Javadekar said.
The first three floors and the mezzanine of the museum housed a prized collection of extinct stuffed animals and birds (taxidermy), fossils, rare eggs, herpetological specimen, research findings and a collection of books and videos on nature.
