Thane: Work on 4 new fire stations may start soon
Three of the fire stations will be constructed by the developers in exchange of TDR
The proposed fire stations in Thane may finally see the light of the day, as the fire department is slated to start the work on Shil Phata fire station soon, while three other fire stations will be constructed by developers on transfer of development right (TDR) basis.
The fire department has already tabled a proposal to construct a new fire station at Shil Phata, and the actual construction work will commence once approved by the general body.
Shashikant Kale, chief fire officer, said, “Besides Shil Phata, three new fire stations will come up at Kalwa (near immersion ghat), Jupiter Hospital in Majiwada and Hiranandani Estate. These three stations will be constructed by the developers in exchange of TDR and we will not be spending any money on construction. However, after the construction is done, we will provide manpower and infrastructure and will be responsible for operating these three fire stations.”
There was a longstanding demand for Shil Phata fire station from residents and corporators, as the nearest fire station is in Mumbra and lot of time is wasted in traffic and manoeuvring the narrow roads in case of accidents.
“The Shil Phata station, however, will be constructed using our own funds because no developer was ready to construct this station despite efforts put in by the town planning department. The station will have a two-storeyed administrative building, three-storeyed officers’ quarter and employee quarters of four floors,” he added.
In the first phase, only administrative building will be constructed, for which Rs5.53 crore were approved by the general body in 2013. An additional approval of Rs3.83 crore has been sought in the proposal. The department has also got a sanction for 500 additional staffers to operate these stations.
At present, the fire brigade department has 300 fire fighters. There are six fire stations in the city, of which the one at Panchpakhadi became operational last month. The fire brigade had proposed an integrated fire development plan in which nine more fire stations will be operational in the city.
Call for assistance
Jawahar Baag fire station: 25331600
Wagle Estate fire station: 25823477
Balkum fire station: 25366401, 25376702
Kopri fire station: 25325313
Mumbra fire station: 25462424
Panchpakhadi fire station: 25376702