Kannur (Kerala) [India], March 5 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government is taking a committed approach to modernising the fire and rescue service and that renovation works worth Rs 251 crore have been carried out in the service in 10 years.
The Chief Minister was speaking after inaugurating the new building of the Panur Fire Station online. The service has all the latest equipment such as underwater drones, robo fire fighters, fire tenders, and advanced rescue tenders. A comprehensive change was made in the department after the 2018 floods.
Around 10,000 Civil Defence Volunteers and 4,500 Apthamitra workers, who ensure public participation in disaster management, have become the strength of Kerala. The strength of the force is a 31-member team that has received special training from ITBP and NDRF. For the first time in history, 100 firewoman posts have been created. 17 selected from these were trained in scuba diving, forming the country's first women's scuba diving team.
To ensure representation of women in the leadership, 12 posts of women station officers have been created. This is also an example of the work being done by the state for women's empowerment. The Fire Safety Science Research Centre is being established at Ancharakandi, Kannur, for Rs. 20 crore to bring about scientific changes in the fire service. The Thrissur Fire and Academy has also been renovated with state-of-the-art facilities. As a result, the Kerala Fire Service Academy has today become the training centre for the Nagpur Fire Services.
The domestic fire safety classes conducted by Kudumbashree units to minimise fire incidents in homes have generated a good response. In this way, the fire service is able to carry out more activities with public participation. All the officers of the department are able to understand the mentality of those who need help in the face of disasters and stand by them. The Chief Minister said that this is also leading to a significant increase in the confidence of the general public.
K.P. Mohanan, MLA, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony. The new building, built on an area of 1062.00 square meters for Rs. 4.25 crore, has facilities like Station Officer Room, Assistant. Station Officer Room, Record Room, Office Room, Watchman Room, Medical Room, Mechanic Room, Dining Room, Kitchen Room, Store Room, Waiting Area, Vehicle Garage and Toilets.
This is a fire station with appropriate infrastructure to provide fire and rescue services to places like Panur, Pannyannur, Kadavathur, Parad, Peringathur, Mekunnu, etc. in the fastest manner.
Public Works Building Department, Thalassery Executive Engineer C. Savitha presented the report.
Panur Municipality Chairperson Naushat Koodathil, Chokli Grama Panchayat President N Anoop, Trippangottur Grama Panchayat President Gafur Mullassery, Panur Municipality Councilor Shameena, Fire and Rescue Service Director General Nitin Agrawal, Panur CI MV Shiju, District Fire Officer Arun Bhaskar, representatives of various political parties KE Kunjabdulla, V Surendran Master, PK Shahul Hameed, P Dinesan, KC Vishnu, P Prabhakaran Master, KP Yusuf, Ramachandran, Jyotsna, PP Ashok Kumar, KP Sivaprasad, KP Ragesh, OK Rajesh, Baiju Kottai, KK Girish Kumar, KK Purushothaman, PK Babu, Sooraj Dharmalayam, KP Sayant, and RK Rajesh Kumar spoke.