22 temporary stations to be set up to check fire cases during Puja

kolkata: State Fire and Emergency Services department is taking up a slew of measures to prevent fire at Puja pandals and intervene promptly in case of any such incident.

State Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose held a virtual meeting with District Fire Officers (DFOs) in presence of senior officials of his department and gave necessary instructions in this regard. The department will not charge any license fees from the Puja committees this year. "We are going to set up 22 temporary fire stations in Kolkata and in other districts so that the firemen can rush in case there is any fire incident. There will be more than 200 motorcycles stationed at these fire stations which will come handy in case of any fire incident. During Puja, it often becomes difficult for movement of big fire tenders on roads so these mototcycles equipped with fire fighting equipment will be effective," Bose said.The DFOs have been directed to carefully examine the Puja pandals by checking the electrical wires, and basic fire fighting equipment . "They will also see to it that the entry and exit of the pandals are in proper place so that vehicular movement is not disturbed by any means," Bose said.

The DFOs will also ensure that the organisers abide by COVID safety protocols like wearing of masks, use of sanitisters etc. Referring to the recent incident of fire at a timber godown in Nimtala, Bose said he would soon hold a meeting with the timber association in presence of local MLA Shashi Panja to ensure that such factories or godowns observe safety measures. "They have been found cooking in such godowns which pose a high risk," he said. Additional Chief Secretary of the department Manoj Agarwal will soon send a letter to chairman of Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port (SMP) in this regard.