Farwest hill district still doing without fire engines

DADELDHURA, April 7: Half of the Ghatal Traders´ factory in Dadeldhura was already engulfed in fire by the time a fire engine from neighboring Doti district reached the spot for rescue Saturday morning. Had there been a fire engine in Doti, property worth millions could have been saved.



Fortunately a team of Nepal Army, Nepal Police and locals, who had stepped in for the rescue, was able to prevent the inferno from spreading further.[break]



Most of the hill districts in the farwestern region do not have fire brigades. All three municipalities in the region are without fire engines. Even after repeated fire incidents, Amargadhi Municipality of Dadeldhura, and Dasrathchand Municipality of Baitadi have not purchased fire engines and the only one in Doti remains non-operational most of the time, informed Dadeldhura Chief District Officer (CDO) Hrishi Ram Tiwari.



Summer is the season of fire incidents but we don´t have functioning fire engines in Dadeldhura and Baitadi for the past one year, said Tiwari.



Explaining the dire situation, clerk at Amargadhi Municipality Lal Bahadur Saud said they do not have funds to purchase fire engine.



"We have repeatedly asked the Ministry of Local Development to provide funds for fire engine but our concern remains unheeded. Donors have provided many fire engines but none has landed in our district," Saud bemoaned.



A local of Doti shared that hand-carried water is the only option for them to fight blazes. "Water is not always available and during summer the situation worsens. Properties worth millions of rupees are destroyed before our eyes and we remain helpless," said the local.

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