Akash Ghai Mohali, October 16 With manpower shortage plaguing district fire services, the Mohali Municipal Corporation (MC) has been asked to outsource staff to ensure that the requisite emergency services are available during the festive season. In a letter written to the Principal Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, the Mohali Deputy Commissioner (DC), Girish Dayalan, pointed out that while 19 fire tenders were available in the district, only three or four could actually be deployed at any given time due to shortage of the manpower. “This number is too little for taking any effective action in case of an emergency,” the letter states. “During the festive season, the township of Kurali in Mohali district is a major firecrackers wholesale market. But there are no fire tenders or fire services available locally,” said Dayalan Pointing out that in the last two-three fire incidents the district administration had to request the Chandigarh Administration for urgent help, Dayalan cautioned that the neighbouring administration may not be in a position to assist due to its own commitments in the festive season. “As such, we have requested the Local Government Department that in the interim, to ensure safety and security of the life and property of residents and to avoid any untoward incident, it is imperative to hire trained manpower for the upcoming festive season at the earliest,” Dayalan added. “We have also asked the department that as a permanent measure, vacancies in the Fire Department may be filled up at the earliest as per law,” Dayalan said.

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