Mumbai: Kandivli fire brigade stunned as traffic cops erect pole in front of their gate for I-Day fest

The blocked gate of the Kandivli Fire Bridge, at Kamala Nehru Road, on Sunday. Pic/Satej Shinde

The celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate India's 75th anniversary of independence has sparked a clash between Kandivli Fire Brigade officials and the traffic police, who have built a concrete flagpole base that is obstructing an exit of the former. The fire officials have complained to the BMC, police and the traffic headquarters.

Fire officials told mid-day they use the gate to attend to emergency calls from the Borivli side. The fire brigade wrote to the BMC after traffic police did not pay heed to their request for the removal of the flagpole. In case of emergencies, fire engines have to leave the premises within one minute, said fire officials.

Two exits

The fire station is located on S V road in Kandivli West and has two emergency exits. One exit is on SV Road that is used for emergencies towards the Malad side and another is next to a small lane on Kamala Nehru Marg where Kandivli traffic chowki is built. This exit is used for emergencies towards Borivli side. The fire brigade officials said the traffic police covered the second emergency gate with white cloth on Saturday and constructed a concrete flagpole in front of the gate.

Also read: Har Ghar Tiranga: BMC claims to have distributed 41 lakh tricolours

The Kandivli Fire Bridge station

Kandivli Fire Station officer Amit Padwal said, "We have two exit gates for our fire engines, but since Saturday, traffic police have blocked our second exit gate from where fire engines go towards the Borivli side on emergency calls. They have blocked access to our vehicles and fire engines, for emergency services. I also spoke with Senior Police Inspector Suresh Rokade of Kandivli Traffic division, but instead of solving the issue, he said: ‘do whatever you want, we will not remove the flagpole'. This is dadagiri [hooliganism] and police officers should not speak in this manner with fire officers. We are serving the nation."

Complaint

On Sunday, the Fire Brigade filed a complaint with the Kandivli police station, the BMC and traffic police department's head office in Worli "to take strict action for constructing an illegal concrete flagpole at our main exit gate. We have demanded that this illegal structure be removed on an immediate basis to give space to our emergency fire vehicles," said Padwal.

A white cloth covers a gate of the Kandivli Fire Bridge, at K Nehru road, on Sunday. Pics/Satej Shinde

Fire brigade officials said they are not against flag hoisting, but traffic police should not block the emergency gate. "Every month, we receive around 70-80 emergency calls and we have to head out within a minute, to save lives. Last month, we received around 64 calls, including 11 related to fire," Padwal said.

‘Not for emergency'

Speaking with mid-day, Rokade said, "India is celebrating the 75th Independence Day and everyone, including traffic police, are hoisting the national flag. For the celebration, we constructed a concrete flagpole near the fire bridge's gate. But this is not the emergency exit. Their main exit is on SV road. They have not used the second gate for fire engines since the past two years. This is the fire department's society gate and is used for society vehicles. It is the time to celebrate, not fight."

Fine for obstruction

If anyone stops or interrupts the movement of fire vehicles while they are attending to an emergency call, the offender is liable to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.