When Celebration Turns to Chaos: The Fiery Ordeal at Zirakpur's Majestic Hall

Imagine, for a moment, the hum of a wedding celebration: laughter echoing, music playing, perhaps a toast being raised. Guests, dressed in their finest, sharing in the joy of a new beginning. That was the scene, you could say, at The Majestic banquet hall in Zirakpur this past Sunday evening. A beautiful affair, full of promise, unfolding just off the bustling Chandigarh-Ambala highway.

But then, just like that, the air changed. Around 7:30 PM, as the festivities were truly hitting their stride, an insidious flicker, born of a short circuit, began its quiet, destructive dance. What started small quickly escalated, and suddenly, the joyous occasion was interrupted by something far more primal, far more terrifying: fire. Honestly, it must have been an absolute nightmare for everyone present.

Panic, naturally, threatened to take hold. Flames, hungry and swift, began to lick at the hall's interiors. The entire venue, a place of carefully arranged decor and cherished moments, was rapidly engulfed. Yet, amid the sheer chaos and rising smoke, something truly remarkable happened. Staff, guests — everyone moved with incredible speed and presence of mind. And thankfully, miraculously really, every single person present was evacuated to safety. No injuries reported, not a single one. It’s a testament, perhaps, to quick thinking under immense pressure.

Soon enough, the night sky over Zirakpur was lit not just by the hall's inferno, but by the flashing lights of emergency services converging from all directions. Fire tenders, more than ten of them, rushed in from Zirakpur itself, from Dera Bassi, and even from neighboring Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula. It was an all-out effort, a desperate battle against a blaze determined to consume everything in its path.

For over three grueling hours, these brave crews fought the roaring inferno, containing it, battling it, until finally, around 10:30 PM, the flames were brought under control. The hall, alas, was utterly gutted – a complete loss. Parvesh Kumar, the hall's manager, confirmed the extent of the damage, pointing to the short circuit as the devastating cause. A wedding, a day of dreams, had become, for a time, a dramatic spectacle of destruction. But for once, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief, because though the venue is gone, the most precious things – human lives – were spared.