Ludhiana MC chief reviews fire safety arrangements before Diwali

Last year, 45 fire incidents were reported on Diwali night in Ludhiana. This year, the fire brigade has ten additional fire tenders in comparison to last year, including 24 big fire tenders, two small fire tenders, a rescue tender in case anyone is injured at the site

: To avoid any fire incident on Diwali night, municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Shena Aggarwal, on Friday, reviewed the safety arrangements done by the fire brigade to tackle any untoward situation.

Ludhiana MC chief said fire safety suits had also been provided to the firefighters in the past. Further, she appealed to residents to take precautions while bursting crackers on Diwali and avoid keeping waste or any other material on roofs of their respective buildings to avoid fire incidents. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The officials said preparations had been made to ensure that the fire brigade does not face any trouble in refilling the fire tenders from the nearby tubewells. “70 employees will be deputed at refilling 24/7 and 22 generator sets have also been arranged at the sites in case a power cut is witnessed in the area. With the fire brigade facing shortage of staff, additional drivers have also been provided to the fire brigade as per the requirements,” they added.

Last year, 45 fire incidents were reported on Diwali night. This year, the fire brigade has ten additional fire tenders in comparison to last year, including 24 big fire tenders, two small fire tenders, a rescue tender in case anyone is injured at the site.

Aggarwal said fire safety suits had also been provided to the firefighters in the past. Further, she appealed to residents to take precautions while bursting crackers and avoid keeping waste or any other material on roofs of their respective buildings to avoid fire incidents. “Residents can call at 0161-101 in case any fire incident is reported. Fire brigade (headquarters) can also be reached at 0161- 2749111, 2750764, 2750765,” she added.

Fire hydrants inspected in old city areas

For expediting the process to douse the flames, the fire brigade has also checked the fire hydrants installed in different old city areas, including Gur Mandi, Namak Mandi, Saidan Chowk, Wait Ganj etc. The fire brigade officials said the fire hydrants were attached with tubewells and water could be arranged from these hydrants.

Temporary stations are to be established at Aarti chowk, Dugri chowk, Samrala chowk, Sherpur chowk and BRS nagar canal bridge to reduce reaction time in case any fire incident is reported.

Fire tenders deployed at firecracker markets

A day after it was reported that the temporary firecracker markets in the city are sitting on a powder keg with no or inadequate fire safety arrangements, fire tenders were deployed in the markets by city fire brigade on Friday.

As per the information, the administration issued directions to deploy the fire tenders by charging ₹2,000 from each of the stall owners in the market.

Six markets with 37 stalls have been established in different parts of the city and fire tenders were deployed at three markets till Friday evening, including grain market near Jalandhar bypass, cremation ground road in Model Town extension and GLADA grounds on Chandigarh road. Meanwhile, the stall owners in Haibowal, Dugri phase-2 and Lodhi club road and remaining markets were yet to pay the fee.

SGST dept clamps down on cracker vendors in city

The state goods and services tax (GST) department on Friday said only four of the 37 vendors who have procured temporary licences to sell firecrackers in Ludhiana are registered with them.

Deputy commissioner of state tax, Randhir Kaur, said they have written to the Ludhiana police department, asking them to cancel temporary licences of vendors who have not got themselves registered with the GST department. The state levies 18% GST on sale of firecrackers.

As per information, a firecracker vendor who was not allotted a temporary licence had submitted a complaint with the state department regarding the same. In the complaint, he reportedly alleged that the department has not also not collect advance tax from vendors this year, and sought action against the vendors and officials concerned.

The advance tax is deducted from the total calculated tax which has to be paid by vendors after selling the firecrackers.

President of the recently formed firecracker vendors’ association, Gauravjeet Gora, was not available for comments.