Land for new fire station near Ludhiana's Phullanwal Chowk identified by civic body

In a move to strengthen the fire safety infrastructure in the city, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has planned to build another fire station near Phullanwal Chowk here. Around 1,000 sq yards of MC land has been identified and earmarked for the project.

At present, the city has fire stations on Gill Road, Tajpur Road and in Focal Point, Sundar Nagar and the headquarters. With the proposed stations near Phullanwal Chowk and Dhandari Kalan, the civic body aims to expand its network to cover newly developed and densely populated areas.

Officials said a tender for the construction of the new fire station at Phullanwal Chowk was floated two days ago with an estimated cost of Rs 1.85 crore under the 15th Finance Commission. The project is part of the civic body’s ongoing efforts to improve emergency response services in rapidly expanding parts of the city.

Superintending Engineer Sham Lal Gupta said: “The Fire Department will get one more station near Phullanwal Chowk and a tender had already been floated for the same. A tender for another fire station near Dhandari Kalan was also floated about a month ago and the MC has received two bids for the same.”

The officials said the proposed fire station near Phullanwal Chowk would cater to nearby residential colonies and commercial pockets, which had witnessed rapid growth in recent years. The absence of a fire station has often led to delays in response time during emergencies in the area.

The civic body is also moving ahead with the plan to construct the fire station near Dhandari Kalan. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 1.89 crore and the bids received are currently under scrutiny.

Civic officials believe that the addition of new fire stations, along with the recent creation of posts in the department, will significantly improve the overall efficiency of fire services in Ludhiana. The city has been witnessing frequent fire incidents, especially in industrial units and densely populated localities. The MC officials maintained that once these projects were completed, the department would be in a better position to handle emergencies and reduce response time, thereby ensuring safety for the public.