A major fire broke out at the Satkosia Eco Retreat camp at Narasinghpur in Cuttack district early on Sunday morning. At least three tent cottages were reduced to ashes in the blaze.
Though the reason behind the outbreak of fire was yet to be ascertained, it was suspected that an electrical short circuit might have led to the mishap. On being informed, Fire Services personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flames. Luckily, the visitors, including Transport Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda and his wife Santosh Bala, who is Special Secretary of Home Department escaped unhurt. “By the grace of God, me and Santosh escaped without any injury as fire broke out in our tent at Satkosia Eco Retreat at about 5 am,” wrote Panda in his Facebook post.
Notably, Santosh Bala’s official residence at Unit-6 in Bhubaneswar had been badly damaged in an explosion at the petrol pump near the Raj Bhawan last year. The Tourism Department said that all visitors at the Satkosia Eco Retreat camp are safe; and a probe into the fire incident was being conducted.
Steps would be taken to ensure that no recurrence of such an incident happens in future, it said.