Bhubaneswar: Three more fire stations have been opened in Odisha capital to cater to the demand in the increasing geographical area of the city.
Director General of Fire Services Santosh Upadhyaya inaugurated the fire stations at Mancheswar, Pahala and Tamando on Sunday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had extended his approval to the new fire stations on April 18.
Speaking to media persons on the sideline of the inauguration, Upadhyaya said the city had 6 fire stations so far. While three were located at Kalpana Square, Secretariat and Chandrasekharpur, two were in suburban areas at Balianta, Balipatna and Jatni.
The city’s geographical area under Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) extended after Bhubaneswar Urban Development Agency (BUDA) came into being to cover more population. “Considering the extended area of the city, we had proposed to the government to open 3 more fire stations andit was approved by the chief minister this month,” he said.
He further said the new Fire stations are equipped with necessary manpower, vehicles, equipment, telephone connections and computer. These stations will start functioning from today, he added.
“Mancheswar fire station has been set up to primarily cater to the needs of the area coming under Mancheswar and Sahidnagar police stations. But in case of online call for Fire services from any nearby areas, it will also be attended by this station,” the DG said.
The government aims at opening at least one fire station in each block across the state. With today’s inauguration, Odisha has 345 fire stations which is more than many states in the country, he added.
On future plans, he said there are plans to provide fire services through two-wheelers which can have easy access to narrow lanes and bylanes in case of emergency. “There also plans to set up exclusive water frets across the city to cater to the Fire services. We are holding discussion with WATCO and BDA in this regard,” he added.
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