HYDERABAD, Jan 16: The famous Secunderabad Club, a heritage of the British era, was destroyed in a massive fire in the wee hours of Sunday. No casualty has been reported. The property loss is estimated at Rs 20 cr. The cause of the fire has not been ascertained but an electric short circuit is suspected to have started the blaze.

“We rushed 10 fire tenders to the building immediately. It took about three to four hours to bring the flames under control. The entire club has been gutted to ashes,” the fire department said. Several gas cylinders are believed to have exploded in the fire, aggravating the flames. And the liquor stores fanned the blaze. The fire is believed to have started in the bar room between 12 and 1 am, and by 3 am the firefighters were seen on their job.

One of the oldest and celebrated clubs in India, the Secunderabad Club was established by the British Government for its officials on April 26, 1878 and was initially called Secunderabad Public Rooms. It was renamed the Secunderabad Garrison Club, the Secunderabad Gymkhana Club and the United Services Club. It was subsequently named Secunderabad Club since it was situated in Secunderabad. The club was formed by the British Army Garrisons stationed in Secunderabad under an agreement with the Nizam of Hyderabad. Today it is one of the few oldest clubs in India, the oldest club being the Bengal Club of Calcutta. The elite club is spread over an area of 30 acres and has 8,000 members and 300 employees.