Major fire engulfs Panaji bus stand

Panaji: A major fire on Monday engulfed a bus stand here that also houses a transport department office, an official said. No fatalities were, however, reported.

Director of Transport Nikhil Desai said the fire that started on Monday morning, could have destroyed old files and records from the Panaji Road Transport Office.

"There is a major damage to enforcement and registration sections and old records could be lost due to the fire. Our digitised records are safe," Desai told reporters, adding that an enquiry had been launched into the cause of the incident.

Eyewitnesses said the fire started soon after clouds of dark smoke started emanating from the bus stand premises for several minutes, which alerted commuters and shopkeepers who run business establishments in the premises.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar also visited the Panaji bus stand, which is the state`s biggest bus station and used by thousands of commuters for intra-state and inter-state commuting.