20 April,2015 07:14 AM IST | | Sachin Unhalekar
The Fire Brigade gave its own twist to the filmy roti, kapda aur makaan and the political bijli, pani aur sadak slogans yesterday with a street play called Pagal -- PA for Pani, GA for Gas and L for Light
The Fire Brigade gave its own twist to the filmy roti, kapda aur makaan and the political bijli, pani aur sadak slogans yesterday with a street play called Pagal. With PA standing for Pani (Water), GA for Gas and L for Light or electrical fittings, the play, performed by firemen, was designed to give citizens a checklist of things to inspect before leaving the house to prevent mishaps.
The 30-minute play was enacted by a team of 10, consisting of firemen, drivers and operators of fire vans and assistant station fire officers
The street play, which was part of the first-ever rally organised by the Fire Brigade in the city yesterday, was performed twice, in Lalbaug and Five Gardens. Written and directed by Assistant Station Fire Officer Uttam Bhagat, the 30-minute street play was enacted by a team of 10, consisting of firemen, drivers and operators of fire vans and assistant station fire officers.
This table ladder van from 1937, which was the only fire vehicle to have survived the 1944 Bombay Docks Explosion, led the rally and was its star attraction
Besides asking citizens to check the three things before leaving the house, one of the play's dominant themes was fire safety in highrises. The play sought to educate people on the necessity of fire safety equipment and its maintenance in highrises, the need for passages to be kept clear for fire engines and firemen and for electrical wires to be covered.
Several Mumbaikars were spotted clicking selfies with uniformed firemen
The same play was presented in Borivli, Kandivli, Colaba, Kalina and Memonwada earlier in the week. The fire flag march rally, which began at the BMC headquarters at 9.15 am and ended in Five Gardens, Matunga, was a part of the Fire Brigade service week which began on April 14.
250 firemen and officers were part of the rally and were portrayed as âyour neighbourhood firemen' on the stickers and pamphlets distributed on the occasion. Officials said that, through the rally, the department sought to give Mumbaikars the message of "help us help you".
20 fire engines also participated in the rally with a table ladder van from 1937 being the star attraction. The rally was flagged off by Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte and Mayor Snehal Ambekar and Mumbaikars were seen clicking selfies with the uniformed firemen.
