metro india news  I hyderabad

The Telangana government has asked five departments, including fire and police, to go into the devastating fire in a building that left 17 people dead and submit a report, state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said on Monday.

The officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), fire, police, revenue department and the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) would jointly probe the tragedy and submit a report to the government, Prabhakar, in-charge minister for Hyderabad, told the news agency.

As part of measures to prevent such fire mishaps in future, the government would involve local public representatives to impress upon residents of old buildings to install fire safety measures in the interest of their safety, Prabhakar added. There are many century-old buildings, including the one that caught fire, at Gulzar Houz and the surrounding areas.

A blaze triggered by a suspected short circuit in a building near the iconic Charminar here on Sunday killed 17 people, including eight children, belonging to an extended family of a jeweller. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has ordered an inquiry into the fire accident.