No fire station in 3 Kathua subdivisions

Sanjay Pathak

Kathua, October 19

Residents of Billawer, Basohli and Bani subdivisions of Kathua districts have nobody to turn to in case of fire-related incidents. The areas, having a population of over three lakh, have no fire service station.

Kathua district is spread over 2,651 sq km and most of the area falls under these three subdivisions.

A three-storey building of a retired zonal education planning officer caught fire last week in Bani town, but the tehsil administration failed to do anything as fire tenders were not available.

Deepak Kumar of the Bani town said the family suffered losses worth several lakhs.

Loknath, another resident, said, “The nearest fire tender available is at the Kathua district headquarters, which is nearly 175 km from Bani town.”

“Most of the houses and shops in the upper reaches of Billawer, Basohli and Bani are of wood and are fire-prone,” said Ashish Kapoor, a social worker from Basohli. He said every year, five to six fire incidents were reported in these subdivisions and people incurred heavy losses. “There is an immediate need for three separate fire service centres in the subdivisions,” he said.

Jeevan Lal, Bani MLA, said he had raised the demand for fire services, but no action had been taken by the state authorities.

He appealed to the Governor to establish a fire service station in the Bani subdivision.

Ajit Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Bani, said there was an urgent need for fire tenders in the area and said they had taken up the matter with the higher authorities. He hoped that the request would be taken into consideration.