Aakash Hassan
ISLAMABAD
Some 52 villages around Larnoo of south Kashmir’s Islamabad are without a fire service station despite being sanctioned one, a decade ago.
The nearest fire station to this far-flung area is situated in Kokernag, 35 km away.
On Monday night, a fire incident took place in the Sayed pura village of the area and according to locals, fire service station was called around 10pm. However, locals say, the fire tenders arrived around 12:30am, taking two and a half hour. Till that, house of Sayed Hayat Shah was gutted.
As per the officials in Fire Service department, swift action is not possible due to the hilly and potholed road. The vehicle loaded with 1100 liters of water has to travel such a long distance, officials say, and hence a delay often ensues.
Around 52 villages including Larnoo, Nabook, Matee, Gavran, Rain, Attar, Lessu, Bruchas, Chetru Halan, Narsagu Kharpa, Iqbal pora, Gudwal, Dandipora, Bedhad, Desu Daksum, Nayempura and others are at high risk because of holdup fire station.
“The fire service station has been sanctioned to Larnoo 10 years ago, but, due to some unknown reasons, it is yet to come up,” a local said.
Numbers of fire incidents reported from the area have gone up recently and according to the locals, fire tenders often show up late, taking toll on the property.
MLA of the area, Ab Raheem Rather while acknowledging the menace said the area remains vulnerable in absence of fire station.
“I have raised this issue number of times and I know, the area is at great risk,” Rather told Kashmir Life. “What is escalating this problem is the late arrival of fire tenders, causing massive loss to property.” The lawmaker assured to rally behind the tender again—the moment impasse over government formation ends in JK.
