The only fire engine in the district that was operated by Malangawa Municipality broke down three years ago. It has not been repaired yet due to budget crunch, municipal officials said. [break]
"We had issued notice asking people not to rely on the municipality in case of fire as the fire brigade has been out of work for two years now," said Santosh Singh, a technician.
With the absence of fire engine, the lives and properties in 99 VDCs and one municipality of the district are vulnerable to fires as the dry season approaches, said a local Bidhaya Nanda Yadav. "The unmanaged settlements in the municipality are prone to more casualties and losses in case of fires," said Yadav.
He also expressed anguish at concerned authorities and local politicians for their apathy toward the issue.
Ashok Yadav, chairman of the Local Peace Committee, said a whole village in Sarlahi´s constituency 3 and 6 were gutted in fire four months ago due to the absence of fire-brigade.
However, Sarlahi Chief District Officer, who also heads the district´s Natural Disaster Rescue Committee, said that after the municipality could not mange the budget for repairing the fire engine, the District Development Committee has decided to bear the cost.
Meanwhile, Upendra Prasad Sah, a section officer at Malangawa Municipality, informed that the municipality is in the process of buying a new fire engine instead of repairing the old one.
Six month ago, a fire raged through Chatauna VDC gutting 19 houses, and just three months ago a fire at Hempur VDC caused severe damages to properties and loss of livestock.
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