Nagpur's new fire stations stand locked for want of staff
Nagpur civic body built new fire stations at Sugat Nagar, Wathoda and Pardi at a cost of crores, but staff shortages have kept them shut.
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation spent crores of rupees to build new fire stations to protect the city from fires, but in reality these stations remain locked. The reason is simple: the firefighters who douse fires and the drivers who operate the fire engines are not posted there.
Despite a severe staff shortage, these stations were inaugurated in haste purely for electoral credit and political gain, even though arrangements were incomplete. At the new fire stations built at Sugat Nagar, Wathoda and Pardi, modern vehicles and equipment are simply gathering dust.
The roughly 50-60 year old Panchpaoli fire station near Kamal Talkies was built specifically to protect the Ara Machine area. After the building became dilapidated, it was vacated and shifted two years ago to a new building at Sugat Nagar, but adequate staff has still not been posted there.
Similarly, a fire station was built at Wathoda to protect Lakadganj, Sakkardara and the area adjoining the dumping yard, but the construction was delayed by a court dispute, and by the time it was completed, the staff who had earlier worked there had already retired. Even so, under pressure from local elected representatives and the administrators of the time, officials went ahead and inaugurated the station without staff, in a rush to open stations and claim credit.
The fire station built under the Smart City project at Pardi is excellent in terms of modern facilities and quality, but the situation there is no different. The equipment and vehicles are in place, but the staff needed to operate them and respond to emergencies is missing.
At present, three to four fire engines remain stationed only at the older, larger stations. If staff were posted at the new stations, these engines could be distributed one each to Sugat Nagar, Wathoda and Pardi. The department is currently facing a severe shortage of both drivers and firemen, and at several places a single person has to handle the duties of both driver and fireman.
On a positive note, recruitment for around 91 to 100 new posts of drivers and firemen combined is in its final stage. But until this new staff completes training and takes up duty, residents of the city are unlikely to get real relief from these newly built fire stations.
