Over 3,000 books gutted in fire at library in DU's Sri Guru Gobind Singh College

NEW DELHI: More than 3,000 books were reduced to ashes after a massive fire broke out at the library of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (SGGSCC) in north Delhi's Pitampura on Thursday morning, forcing the cancellation of semester exams and prompting the college to switch to manual book issuance. Officials at SGGSCC, a constituent college under Delhi University, said the blaze triggered by a short circuit in the library's server severely damaged the section housing old books on the second floor.

“More than 3,000 books were burnt in the fire. Fortunately, the ground and first floors, which house the latest editions and frequently-issued books, remained largely unaffected,” SGGSCC principal Jatinder Bir Singh told PTI. “We are aware of the books that have been destroyed. They will be replaced after a complete assessment of the losses,” Singh added. While the library's online system was damaged in the incident, the facility remains functional, with books being issued manually to students amid the ongoing semester exams, the principal said.

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The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call about the fire around 8:55 am on Thursday. “The blaze engulfed the first, second, and third floors of the four-storey library building. Eleven fire tenders were rushed to the spot, which brought the flames under control by 9:40 am,” a DFS official said. No injuries were reported in the incident. A college official confirmed that the semester examination scheduled for the morning shift on Thursday had been cancelled, while the one scheduled for the second shift was conducted as planned. “An alternative date and schedule will be announced shortly,” the official said.