Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Fire Station at Kharghar not yet inaugurated' that was published in Newsband

Fire Station at Kharghar not yet inaugurated

By Dinesh Kamath

KHARGHAR: Kharghar is badly in need of a fire station. City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has come up with a fire station at Kharghar Sector-12 but it is not yet inaugurated.

Whenever fire breaks out at Kharghar, the fire station at Kalamboli has to be contacted. By the time the firemen arrive from there some damage already takes place. This damage to lives and properties wouldn’t have been caused if a fire station was located at Kharghar itself.

The residents of Kharghar have time and again questioned the CIDCO authorities as to why the new fire station constructed at Sector 12 has not yet started. They are told that the state government has yet to sanction fire personnel for the new fire station. Lack of manpower prevents CIDCO authorities from making the new fire station to start functioning.

One of the residents asked that if CIDCO lacked manpower to run the fire station then why it was constructed at all. The fire station had come up more than six months back and yet it has not started functioning yet.

Another resident said that the government will wake up only when a major fire incident takes place in Kharghar. Before that they will just take things lightly, he added.

NMMC has its own fire fighting cell. There are fire fighting stations at CBD Belapur, Vashi, and Airoli. NMMC has set up emergency centre at Khairane MIDC area for Thane Belapur industrial area. It is high time NMMC proposed a budget which will enable the fire station at Kharghar to equip itself with both manpower and necessary equipments.

Kharghar was always badly in need of a fire station which had a good structure which can store firefighting apparatus, fire engines, related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire hoses, other specialized equipment and also dormitory living facilities and work areas for the use of fire fighters. This area needed a fire station which could provide 24 hours service and with advanced alarm system and which can be contacted easily in case of emergency.

CIDCO did almost come up with such a structure but the sad thing is that it has not been provided with manpower owing to which the fire station has yet to start functioning. The city has so many unemployed youth who would be prepared to take up the job in this fire station but all that is needed is sanctioning of enough funds by the state and local government so that it is possible to start making the fire station start functioning.