Safety preparedness at the country’s first International Financial Services Centre GIFT-IFSC has come under lens after a major fire engulfed the admin office campus of the IFSC in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) area at the GIFT City near Gandhinagar.

The two-floor building, which was one of the first buildings to come up at GIFT City, was reduced to rubble after a fire that started from a passage near the canteen rapidly engulfed the entire building.

The building was being used as the temporary administrative office of the IFSC. Lack of safety measures was evident as fire tenders had to be called in from Gandhinagar. The fire tenders had to do multiple sorties to bring the fire under control.

Electric short-circuit is suspected to be the cause of fire, while an investigation is pending.

Ajay Pandey, Managing Director & CEO, and GIFT officials were present when the fire started.

“The cause of fire seems to be a short-circuit and investigations are under way to ascertain the exact cause,” Pandy said.

The temporary administrative block once housed the offices of the MD & CEO and Chairman Sudhir Mankad, but they were shifted to the GIFT 1 Tower. The admin functions of IFSC were conducted from the ill-fated premises. GIFT-IFSC employs about 7,800 people and has witnessed cumulative investment of ₹10,000 crore or $1.7 billion so far.

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