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Journalism of Courage
With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner,all the public service departments in the city are gearing up to make sure that the proceedings see a smooth sail. While on one hand,there are hordes of police officials who will be denied leave on the D-day on April 30,and on the other there is also the team of special armed forces to ensure that no untoward incident takes place. This election season will also see,for the first time in decades,medical officers and doctors from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on election duty. While the citys fire brigade too will chip in for election duty,the real work for them will only begin once Mumbaikars have cast their votes.
According to the norms and policies,we dont have any special task cut down for us on the day of the election. We will carry out our usual work on this day, said chief fire officer,PD Karguppikar. However,this does not mean that the fire brigade will have it easy; their work will only begin later. The fire departments real work will begin once the ballot boxes have been sealed and stored before votes are to be counted. We will be focussing on the threat of sabotage or arson to destroy votes, said Karguppikar.
The fire brigade will make sure that no malpractice takes place once the citizens have cast their votes. We will have fire extinguishing facilities available near places where the ballots will be stored and round-the-clock surveillance by our firemen to ensure that no mischief or malicious sabotage takes place, said Karguppikar.
The fire brigade will be taking these measures despite facing some staff crunch. We have not yet filled all the vacant posts. We are still in the lookout for some drivers, said Karguppikar. He,however,did not have the exact figures of vacant posts and number of drivers needed.
This election season,civic officials are hoping for a smooth coordination among citys disaster management cell,police,hospitals and the fire department to make sure that no untoward incident takes place before,on the day and after the elections,hence these steps.
On the election day,we will be keeping a tab on any kind of emergency arising in the city. Fire tenders with firemen onboard could be called for through the usual channels,i.e. by calling the emergency services number, said Karguppikar.
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