Fire Station without fire-tender, firefighters in Khag

Budgam, Apr 3: A fire station building has been constructed in Khag area of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, but so far, neither staff has been posted nor any fire tender has been assigned to this fire station.
Locals said that work on a building by Fire and Emergency Services Department started in 2019 and was completed in 2022. “People were relieved that they have got a fire station but to their surprise, despite repeated appeals, no fire tender has been assigned and there is no staff as well,” one of the locals Zubair Ahmed told the news agency Kashmir News Trust.
The massive fire station building constructed in Eidgagh Mohalla of Khag was a long pending demand of people, however, the said fire station gives a ghost look as it has not been made functional yet.
“In case of the fire incident, fire tenders rush to the Khag villages from Beerwah and Magam areas – 16 to 17 kilometers away from the Khag town. Due to dilapidated roads and traffic congestion, it takes over 2 hours for a fire tender to reach the spot of incidence and till then property worth lakhs turn into ashes,” locals said.
The newly constructed building is a hope for the locals living in dozens of adjacent hamlets of Khag including Shunglipora, Poshkar, Dalwash, Nassarpora, Suthharan, Drang, Khanpora, Khandaypora, Habbar, Gujjartaki etc.
Joint Director Fire & Emergency Services, Bashir Ahmed Shah said that they are bound to make it operational though the government has not accorded any sanction to it. “The building needs some internal repairs. There is no electricity yet, once all work is done, staff will be deployed and fire tenders assigned in this mega-fire station,” Shah said.