Sri City ill-equipped to combat fire

Despite the presence of 183 firms, Sri City, which is under the jurisdiction of Sullurpeta in Nellore district, has no fire station.
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

NELLORE: Despite the presence of 183 firms, Sri City, which is under the jurisdiction of Sullurpeta in Nellore district, has no fire station. In case there is a mishap, fire tenders from the fire station in Sullurpeta, 30 minutes away from the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will have to rush to Sri City.

Even the fire station at Sullurpeta has only one fire tender. Though some firms in the SEZ have their own fire tenders, there are no professional firefighters to handle mishaps. A proposal for setting up a fire station in the SEZ has been pending with the State government for quite some time now.

Sullurpeta, one of the 10 Assembly constituencies in Nellore, is a major industrial hub with the presence of 230 companies located in Sri City, Menakuru and Mambattu SEZs. Around one lakh people, both locals and non-locals, are employed in the SEZs.

Apart from the one in Sullurpeta, there is another fire station in Naidupeta.The Sullurpeta fire station covers Sullurpeta town, Doravarisatram and Tada mandals. It has a sump with a capacity of 50,000 litres of water and a borewell. Naidupeta and Ozili mandals come under the purview of the fire station at Naidupeta. Senior officials of the State Disaster Response and Fire Services had promised to set up a fire station near the industrial city and a fire service academy long ago.

But the promise is yet to be fulfilled. Speaking to TNIE, a senior fire services official said,  “It needs an investment of `2 crore to set up a fire station and an additional `60 lakh for its annual maintenance. Though some major firms have fire tenders, they need professionals.”

There are 13 fire stations and 16 fire tenders in Nellore district. The total workforce includes 13 fire officers, 28 leading firemen, 32 driver/operators and 86 firefighters. The proposal to set up 10 more fire stations in the district have not yet materialised.

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