New Delhi, March 22
President Pranab Mukherjee expressed grave concern over Sunday afternoon's fire in the Parliament House complex and urged the authorities to conduct a speedy probe into the incident.

"The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, has expressed serious concern over the massive fire which broke out inside the Parliament House complex this afternoon," an official statement said.

No one was injured in the fire which broke out in an air-conditioning plant on the Parliament House premises.

"He has called upon authorities concerned to conduct an urgent enquiry into the cause of the fire and take necessary steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future," it said.

Mukherjee said the complete safety and security of the Parliament House complex must be ensured at all times.

Fire in parliament reception

A fire broke out at the reception area of Parliament House on Sunday afternoon, but no one was injured in the incident, the fire service said.

The blaze apparently erupted in an air-conditioning plant. Twelve fire tenders battled the flames and brought the fire under control quickly, a spokesman for Delhi Fire Service told IANS.

The cause of the fire was yet to be known, fire service officials said.

The reception area is located a little distance away from the main parliament building.

"Fire broke out in all the three units of the air-conditioning plant installed in an open park near the reception area outside gate No.8 of parliament," Chief Fire Officer A.K. Sharma told IANS.

"The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained but firemen managed to douse the flames within 30 minutes," Sharma added.

Thick smoke billowed out of the premises of parliament where the budget session was going on until Friday. Parliament had met for the first half of the budget session from February 23 till March 20. The second half will commence on April 20.