Bhatkal Fire department has only 15 staffs against required 27

Bhatkal 25 July 2018: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) Bhatkal Fire department is still running short on staff with just 15 staffs deployed currently in Bhatkal Fire Station as against the requirement of 27 staffs to carry out operations during emergency cases in Bhatkal. 15 staffs work on two shifts daily with 5-7 staffs working at a time, making it difficult for the department to tackle emergency situation. "We have to call staffs who are off duty in case there is an emergency of in case of attending multiple cases at a time" adds one of the officer from Bhatkal Fire Station. "Recently we had 20 staff, as five staffs from Homeguards were deployed with us in Bhatkal, but in April this year they were recalled, now we are awaiting them to deploy some more homeguards, but we don't know when they will". "In emergency cases, we sometimes get help from nearby fire stations for manpower, but the nearest fire stations available here are Kundapur and Honnavar which takes between 30-45 minutes to reach us" the officer further adds. On being asked why the vacancies are not being filled, the officer complains about unavailability of staff quarters, and as a result the officers don't want themselves to be posted in Bhatkal, as they have to bear the expense of rent of the houses which are too high. "Government allowance for housing and rent is 1800/- and in 1800 you cannot rent even a room in Bhatkal, so the officers don't want to be posted in Bhatkal" the officer adds. "We were to get a housing quarters here but due to some minor conflict about the land, it is held for now, we are hopeful it will be resolved soon" the officer adds before concluding. The scenario raises some serious questions about the efficiency of our emergency services and their abilities to overcome emergency scenarios. It is high time our local organizations take up this issue with Govt and to pressurize it to come up with the solution as soon as possible. (Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)