About 20 congested and fire prone areas have been identified where water tenders will be parked nearby and kept on high alert to attend to emergencies on Deepavali, said Bholanath, Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services.
Launching the Safe Deepavali Campaign organised by GVK 108 Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) to spread awareness among people to have a fun-filled and safe Deepavali, the DGP said, to attend to fire-related emergencies in inaccessible areas, water mist bikes will also be kept ready. “Our personnel will be on duty round-the-clock,” the DGP added.
Explaining more about the awareness campaign, B Prabhudoss, regional manager, EMRI said that in the campaign, to be conducted across the state, pamphlets will be distributed to students across schools and colleges, boards will be put up in cracker shops among other efforts.
The regional manager said that a total of 74 ambulances, including the two more ambulances included in the fleet – 23 in Chennai, 24 in Tiruvallur and 27 in Kanchipuram — will be on duty this Deepavali.
“We have requested our staff to work on Deepavali and take compensatory leave later,” he added.