7 months ago
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When the Capital is illuminated with lights and families walk clip unneurotic connected Deepavali, firefighters astatine the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) look a stiff situation amid agelong moving hours, responding to fire-related emergencies.
It’s been implicit a decennary since Nitin Lohchab, the DFS officer, spent Deepavali with his household successful Haryana. As a archetypal responder with the occurrence services, Mr. Lohchab has spent the past 11 years successful his firefighting suit, navigating done dense postulation to scope occurrence scenes and responding to telephone calls from radical connected the nighttime of the festival of lights.
With the festival circular the corner, Mr Lohchab recalled that successful his archetypal twelvemonth astatine DFS, helium could not support way of the day. “Hours had conscionable slipped distant successful picking calls and navigating traffic,” Mr. Lohchab said.
He predicted that the fig of fire-related telephone calls could emergence this twelvemonth aft the Supreme Court lifted the broad prohibition connected the merchantability and acquisition of firecrackers. “”In erstwhile years, determination was immoderate level of ban. But this year, with greenish crackers being allowed, the merchantability of firecrackers has been rampant,” helium said.
Preparedness
“Over 2,700 radical enactment circular the timepiece connected Deepavali, and this twelvemonth they volition beryllium accompanied by 255 firefighting units (vehicles) and 41 smaller vehicles arsenic portion of the speedy effect vehicles,” Mr. Lohchab said, adding that the DFS has cancelled leaves for employees connected the time of Deepavali.
“This year, occurrence units person been deployed round the timepiece successful 17 spots that see Bara Tooti Chowk, Tilak Nagar, Lajpat Nagar Central Market, South Extension, Sonia Vihar, etc, and QVR vehicles successful 24 spots similar Paharganj, Sadar Bazar, Nangloi, Palam Gol Chakkar are among different areas,” helium said.
‘Bittersweet Deepavali’
Parvinder Kaur, 32, an serviceman moving astatine the Connaught Place occurrence presumption for the past six years, volition walk different Deepavali distant from his household successful Bahadurgarh, Uttar Pradesh. While helium has gotten utilized to the bushed of the time arsenic the metropolis astir him celebrates Deepavali, the solemnisation for him remains “bittersweet”.
“In 2024, we stepped retired to douse a occurrence successful the Kashmere Gate area, and hours later, erstwhile we doused it, we had to unreserved to Paharganj for different fire. By the clip we were done with some these fires, the time had already gone by,” said Mr Kaur. Last twelvemonth connected the festival day, the DFS serviceman and his squad returned to their presumption astatine 5 a.m. by the clip the festivities were subdued.
For Mr. Kaur and respective different DFS officers, the days starring up to Deepavali impact rigorous preparations. “We cheque our ain equipment, PPE suits and nonstop each our vehicles for maintenance, truthful that we are not caught unprepared,” helium added.
Early dinners
Another DFS officer, Surendra Rathore, said that implicit the past 4 years of moving connected Deepavali, it has ever meant aboriginal dinners. “We support telling our juniors that they indispensable person their dinners aboriginal that day. Once you are retired with a vehicle, the full nighttime is gone,” said the 39-year-old, adding that portion clip absorption is crucial, navigating postulation connected Deepavali nighttime is the astir arduous task.
“We tin power occurrence and forestall monolithic losses if we tin scope early, but the postulation is the biggest challenge,” helium said.
