Mohali sub-fire officer: Kept telling authorities to take action against illegal markets, but business goes on

Did you raise the alarm on the illegal markets in the district?

Yes, many times we brought the issue to the notice of the district administration and urged them to remove the illegal markets. For instance, we asked Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to remove the market at Lakhnaur in May but no action was taken and the fire broke out last month which destroyed all the shops. Fortunately, there was no human casualty.

Apart from the illegal markets, did you issue notices to any other market in the district?

We issued notices to the shopkeepers in Phase 3 A, Phase 1 market, Phase 4 market and Phase 11 market which are very congested and have no fire safety arrangements. In any emergency situation there could be a big loss. Since we can issue the notices only, it is up to the district administration and GMADA to take a call on such markets.

You sent the notices but what action do you take when the shopkeepers don’t respond to the notices, and how many shopkeepers have responded to your notices so far?

Since Punjab has not implemented the Fire Safety Act, our work is to inspect the sites and issue the notices but we cannot act against violators. It is up to GMADA or the district administration to remove the illegal markets or to penalise the shopkeepers who do not comply with the norms. In case the illegal market which was gutted at Lakhnaur, it was on GMADA’s land. If the market is located on private land then the district administration must act. On November 11 on behalf of the fire brigade office, the MC Commissioner wrote letters to both GMADA and the district administration but an illegal furniture market is still being run at Lakhnaur.

What is the current strength of the fire department in Mohali and what are the areas the fire station is covering? Is it true that the department is severely short-staffed?

At present, we are 80 firemen short but the recruitment of 40 firemen is being processed. Right now we have a strength of 39 people, including officers. We have eight fire tenders, two bikes, one rescue fire tender and two jeeps and a Sky Lift. We have full strength of vehicles but we need more firemen. We are covering the area of Kurali, Kharar, Mohali, Majri, Mullanpur and Nayagaon.

Kurali is a sensitive town. Many people have stored firecrackers in their godowns but it is far from the city. Have you made any special arrangements for the town?

No, there are no special arrangements for Kurali and in case of any fire incident, we have to go there and we can also call the fire tenders from Ropar. Around six years ago, we conducted a survey at Kurali and asked the local estate officer of Municipal Council to make it mandatory to insert a valve in all the tubewells in the city and on main roads so that in case the fire tenders need to be refilled, we can do it easily. The valves were installed but now all those valves are missing. Our fire tender has a capacity of storing 5,000 litre water but in case it needed to be refilled at Kurali, it would be very difficult for us.

What kind of challenges the fire brigade have to face when the teams go to control fire at the illegal markets?

The markets are very congested. Ideally, there should be a gap of at least six metres between two shops. But the shopkeepers store LPG cylinders, stoves, kerosene and other combustible material like thinner in case of furniture market. It is very difficult to control the fire where inflammable material is stored. It is also very risky for firemen to go inside such markets and douse the flames. In furniture markets the shops are made of tin. It is very difficult to work as the temperature of the tin sheets rises very high. The smoke chokes the breathing of the firemen.

What can fire department and civic authorities do to control such illegal markets?

The civic bodies, including GMADA, must carry out the inspection at these markets after every three months and also ask the shopkeepers to refrain from storing the combustible material. Since the markets are very old, we can also not expel the shopkeepers in one day. It is a long process so the civic bodies must speak to the shopkeepers and also identify the places where the markets could be shifted.