Taking a cue from the Mantralaya fire in Mumbai, several steps have been taken to secure the 92-year-old Parliament House building from any such untoward incident.

All LPG cylinders have been ordered to be removed from the first floor canteen in the main building and the hazardous LPG is being replaced by the piped PNG gas, following a trip around the Parliament House complex by Lok Sabha Secretary-general T K Viswanathan on Tuesday.

He issued directions to put in place the fire safety measures and held a meeting of the senior officers looking after the maintenance as also the officers of other allied agencies. Seven steps he ordered to protect the premises from fire include:

-- Remove all unwanted furniture and publications;

-- Clear all escape routes and remove all blockages from the staircases;

-- All branches and allied agencies ordered to switch off lights, fans, AC, TV, computers, etc. before leaving office; and

-- Shifting of the canteen from the main building.

Smoking is already banned in the Parliament House complex as all areas are "no-smoking" zone.