EC office fire causes Tk 3.77cr loss

The fire that broke out at the Election Commission office on Sunday night caused damage of over Tk 3.77 crore, EC Additional Secretary Moklesur Rahman said today.

The fire damaged the equipment of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) worth Tk 3,21,28,483 and other valuables, including electronic equipment worth Tk 55,92,686, said Moklesur Rahman, also chief of a six-member probe committee formed by the EC.

Over 59 EVM control units, 47 battery, 789 ballots, 1233 monitors, 557 cable sets, 64 battery of monitor and two bar code scanners, and other electronic products were damaged in the fire, he added.

During a briefing at the EC office in Dhaka, he said the fire originated from electric short circuit on the ground floor of the building.

The fire broke out in the basement of the EC office in Dhaka's Agargaon area around 10:50pm on September 8. Firefighters managed to douse the blaze within an hour and half on that day.