Mumbai : Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday felicitated Kunal Jadhav, who climbed the 9-floored GST Bhavan during the fire on Monday and took down the Indian Tricolour safely.

Senior Congress leader and current PWD Minister Ashok Chavan had asked Jadhav for his presence at the Sahyadri State Guest House on Wednesday evening. After the meeting of the ministers concluded, Chavan introduced Jadhav to the Chief Minister. Later, Uddhav Thackeray felicitated Kunal Jadhav with a boquet of flowers and a potrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Ministers Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad were also present during the felicitation.

A massive fire had broken out at the GST Bhavan in Byculla on Monday but no casualties were reported, civic officials said. Firefighters battled for almost three hours to douse the blaze, which started on the ninth floor of the 10-storey government-owned building, officials said.

Around 3,500 people, including visitors and staff, were in the building, when the fire broke out, around 12.30 pm, deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said. He assured a probe into the blaze, clarifying that no records were lost, as documents had been digitised.

Pawar said the fire spread rapidly due to the presence of papers and wooden material in the building, from where thick smoke billowed out. Cooling operations were underway, he said.