Gandhibagh Zone Inaction Slows Fire Response in Nagpur A critical administrative failure has emerged in Nagpur’s municipal operations after the fire department highlighted severe access issues at a temporarily relocated fire station, raising alarms about emergency preparedness in a densely populated commercial area. The Ganjipeth Fire Station, which was moved to a vacant municipal school building near Model Mill Chowk in the Gadikhana area, faces operational challenges due to restrictive entry conditions. In a March 11 letter, station officer S Sayyed informed the assistant municipal commissioner that the main gate of the premises is too narrow for fire engines to navigate, forcing three firefighting vehicles to remain parked outside the compound. This has compromised the station’s ability to respond swiftly to emergencies. Despite repeated requests from the fire department to widen the gate and remove a road divider blocking access, the Gandhibagh zone office has taken no action. The urgency of the situation became evident on Sunday when a fire broke out at a two-storey building in the Handloom Market complex within the Gandhibagh area. The blaze, which started around 1pm, destroyed the office of advocate Shrichand Kundwani, damaging computers and furniture. While residents and traders managed to prevent the fire from spreading, the response required coordination from multiple stations. Station officer Sayyed and his team arrived at the scene, but additional fire tenders had to be dispatched from the Cotton Market and Civil Lines stations due to local congestion. Local leaders, including corporator Sanjay Balpande and BJP city president Dayashankar Tiwari, visited the site to assess the damage.#shrichand_kundwani #sanjay_balpande #dayashankar_tiwari #gandhibagh_zone #ganjipeth_fire_station
