Fire station project at Sanver: Inter-departmental tiff stops progress

The fire station project at Sanver Road industrial area is stuck due to uncertainty over the department that would take responsibility of operating the fire station and take charge of the maintenance work.

The fire station project at Sanver Road industrial area is stuck due to uncertainty over the department that would take responsibility of operating the fire station and take charge of the maintenance work.

The recent fire accident at one of 1,200 units in the area has again brought into focus the inordinate delay in setting up a fire station there. Fire engines take too long to navigate through traffic conditions and therefore, end up doing precious little when they reach the factories, already gutted by then.

While the government has allocated 10,000 square feet of land for the project in 2013 and Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has made a commitment to provide two fire tenders, the construction of the building is yet to commence.

“The industry department is ready to sanction funds for the building but the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) does not have the authority to operate a fire station. So, the department of housing and environment, and

the home department have to sort out this issue for the project to advance,” Association of Industry (MP) secretary Yogesh Mehta told HT.

The project, which was first conceived five years ago, was postponed due to delay in land allocation by the state government. In 2015, the IMC sanctioned the project but tenders for construction of the building were delayed due to civic body polls.

The 6.5km long industrial area is spread across six sectors. More than 12 units have been gutted in fire accidents here in the past three years. Besides, it is also home to several plastic units that are more risk prone to fire. Once functional, fire tenders will be able to reach accident spots in five to seven minutes.