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Sans fire brigade, Doraha perched on powder keg
Though a fire tender borrowed from the Samrala fire station has been stationed at Doraha for around one year, the fire fighters lack modern equipment and the foam solution required to douse fires caused due to chemicals
A major fire incident at an automobile factory near Doraha on November 11 has yet again brought the many inadequacies in the city’s fire safety under the spotlight.
For starters, the city, which has a population of 35,000, does not have its own fire brigade and depends on the fire services of surrounding cities such as Samrala, Khanna and Ludhiana. This allows the flames time to spread and increases the scope of tragedy as the fire stations of Samrala, Khanna and Ludhiana are located at a distance of 17km, 23km and 21km from Doraha, respectively. It takes at least 20 minutes for the fire brigades to reach Doraha in case of an emergency.
Though a fire tender borrowed from the Samrala fire station has been stationed at Doraha for around one year, the fire fighters lack modern equipment and the foam solution required to douse fires caused due to chemicals.
Fuel galore for flames
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Ward 14 councillor Sarabjit Singh (Vipan) Sethi said, “We have raised this issue time and time again! The fire tender from Samrala was also stationed here after the residents raised a hue and cry over lack of fire safety. Incidentally, Lakkar Mandi, the wood market, is also situated in Doraha and on an average at least two fire incidents are reported from the area every fortnight.”
There are around 40 industrial units in and around Doraha. “Authorities have failed to setup a fire brigade despite the presence of industrial units in and around Doraha. Fatal fire accidents have taken place here in the past,” said former municipal council president Rajvir Singh Rubal, who is also the president of the All-India Trade Union in Doraha.
Industrialists in Jaspalon village, around 5 -6km from Doraha, have also raised a demand to set up a fire brigade in the area. Knitwear and Textile Club president Vinod Thapar says, “A few years back, a fire had ravaged a garment factory in the area. The common facility centre (CFC) of the apparel and knitwear industry, Integrated Apparel Technology and Facilitation Centre Private Limited, has been established in the village at a cost of ₹15 crore and a few national and internal brand companies are also situated in the area. Thus, a fire brigade is sorely needed.”
‘Proposal pending with govt’
Several attempts were made to reach Doraha municipal council president Sudarshan Sharma, but to no avail. However, the council’s executive officer Sukhdev Singh said the council had approved a resolution to establish a fire station in the city, but the proposal is pending with the state government. Doraha, Sahnewal and a few other areas contribute to running the fire brigade in Samrala.
Payal MLA Lakhvir Singh Lakha said, “A fire station is needed in Doraha and I have taken up the matter in the Vidhan Sabha as well. A fire tender from Samrala was stationed in Doraha only after I raised my voice. I will take up the matter with the government again.”
Fire tragedies
Previous tragedies have failed to impress the necessity of a fire brigade in Doraha on the administration.
On June 2015, five people were killed and over 140 were injured in an ammonia gas leak after a gas tanker was stuck under the Doraha flyover on National Highway-44 and gas leaked in the area.
A young couple was killed due to suspected asphyxia after fire broke out at a beer bar-cum-restaurant in Doraha on October 2018. At that time too, fire tenders were rushed from Khanna, Ludhiana, and Samrala to douse the flames and dilute the ammonia gas.
