Fire hydrants may have been installed at Mapusa market at a cost of Rs 23.44 lakh in 2013, but should a fire break out in a congested part of the market, authorities will be forced to tackle the fire with the help of buckets and garden hoses.
This is because the low water pressure has made the five fire hydrants at Mapusa market useless to the fire services.
The five fire hydrants were installed at strategic points at a distance of 100 metres from each other, mainly because the acute congestion in the market had made it impossible for fire tenders to wend their way to the market area. But the hydrants have been unable to provide any service to the 1,114 shops at the Mapusa municipal market, which also includes numerous hawkers and vendors.
The inefficiency of the fire hydrants was exposed on August 18, when fire broke out at a shop in Mapusa market. Fire fighters tried to operate the fire hydrants in the vicinity of the shop, when they found out that there was insufficient water pressure. They were then forced to summon another fire tender to the site.
Speaking to Herald after the fire mishap at Mapusa market, Mapusa Senior Fire Station Officer Dattaram Redkar stated that the fire hydrants installed at Mapusa market could not be used because of inadequate water pressure.
“We inspect the fire hydrants installed in the market thrice a week. After inspecting the fire hydrants on July 6, we wrote a letter on July 8 to the junior engineer of PWD (water supply) with copies to the Mapusa Municipal Council and Mapusa Merchants Association informing them that water pressure was absent in all five hydrants.”
“A minimum delivery of 450 gallons per minute (1,800 litres per minute) at a minimum pressure from each hydrant is required for fire fighting operations. So far, nothing has been done in this regard by the PWD,” Redkar added.
“If this situation continues, there could be a problem later when the fire breaks out in the shops located in congested place inaccessible to a fire tender,” cautioned Redkar.
Redkar’s fears seemed justified given the many fire mishaps at the Mapusa market. During the Christmas season in 2012, 16 shops in the market were gutted in a fire and fire fighters had a tough time extinguishing the flames even though the fire had broken out early in the morning.
In 2013, four fire mishaps were reported in the Mapusa market on January 4, February 11, May 28 and July 22, while this year, fire mishaps took place on May 16, July 12 and August 18.
Mapusa Merchants Association President Yeshwant Gaundalker claimed that they had frequently informed engineers of PWD regarding the inefficiency of the fire hydrants.
“Following our complaint, the engineers visited the market at night and conducted a mock drill. They first disconnected water supply to other lines and then operated the fire hydrants to prove that they were operational,” said Gaundalker.
“The real problem is that the fire hydrants are connected to general pipeline, which is why pressure is absent. The water from a separate pipeline should have been supplied to the fire hydrants,” he added.
During a meeting in the deputy collector’s office on August 19, convened to discuss safety measures during Ganesh festival, the low water pressure of the fire hydrants at the Mapusa market was brought to the notice of the deputy collector.
Dy Collector Sabhaji Shetye then directed the PWD engineers to look into the matter and to ensure that the fire hydrants get sufficient pressure, whenever they are used by the fire services.
