Goemkarponn Desk
CANACONA: The Canacona Fire Station is all set to make its way to re-Station itself at a distant and uneasily accessible location of Chapoli, connected with narrow road and 5 Kms away from the centrally passing National Highway/Main road.
Canacona Fire Station, with its Office and Fire-Tenders is functioning at Xeller, in one of the two Civil Supply Godowns located just adjacent to the NH-66 road, opposite to the Canacona police station, making it largely convenient for the people of Canacona to approach and contact for the fire services in times of emergency. Though, there is a long demand to upgrade Canacona Fire Services and re-locate the Fire Station at a more spacious and independent location, the Fire Station continued to function in the Godown for the last almost more than 50 years.
It was during than Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar’s visit to Canacona, than Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes made a fervent appeal to upgrade the Canacona Fire Station and shift it to a more Spacious location and have late Parrikar has even accepted Fernandes plea to allot suitable land in the Goa Housing Board Plots at Mokhardamoll (Shristhal) adjacent to the High way road for Canacona Fire Station. Goa Housing Board has even allotte plots of land to House the Canacona Fire Station, it is learnt.
According to sources, there are moves to shift the Fire Station functioning in the Godown Shed of Civil Supplies Department to the new location at Multi Purpose Cyclone Shelter having Ground plus Two floors and lying vacant at Chapoli. This is situated at a distance of over 5 Kms from Canacona Police Station and atleast over 2 Kilometers inside the NH66 road.
The move is reportedly taken after Civil Supplies Department has sought vacation of its Shed at Xeller occupied by Canacona Fire Station, for its own use. Though one of the Shed at Xeller is used by Civil Supplies as Godown, its staff is functioning in one corner of the Canacona Mamlatdar Office, with its office employees do not even have proper place to sit, nor could offer seats to the visiting citizens for their various ration-card and other works and enquiries, informed sources.
According to sources, the Civil Supplies Department had written to the Fire Services to vacate and provide their Sheds (owned by Civil Supplies and currently being used by the Fire Services).
It is learnt that simultaneously the construction of a Fire Station in the allotted land in Housing Board at Mokhard is also under consideration of the Fire Services department. However, due to non-payment of money by the Home Ministry for acquisition of the land in Housing Board, the place is yet to come under its control, leaving the Fire Services who protects everyone’s property from disaster, have no property of its own to set up Fire station in Canacona for the past 60 years.
Alternately, Canacona Fire Station, received instructions from its higher up to move its Operational Division to the Multi Purpose Cyclonic Shelter (MPCS) in Chapoli. The shifting process is likely to begin in a few days, informed sources.
Given the tricky location of the MPCS, where the Fire Station will be shifted, connected with narrow and one road passing through congested residential locality at Nagarcem, it is likely to create difficulties for the Fire Services to take the large Fire-Tender vehicles to its Station and from there to go to differenct parts of Canacona taluka to attended emergency calls.
MPCS at Chapoli has two access roads from NH-66 one at Nagarcem, while the other road from NH-66 at Gulem.
In addition, the road from Nagarcem to Chapoli is narrow and since there are residential houses on both sides, sometimes the people of those houses keep their two-wheelers and four-wheelers on the road.
Another aspect is, though previously Chapoli Dam was connected with a landline phone, the phone network hardly exists anymore in the area, which can cause more problems for the Fire Station to function from the distant location averse to road or phone connectivity (except for Mobile networks).
The present location of Canacona Fire station near the national highway was useful for the residents, and even if phones goes out of order people are used to rush to the Station to seek Fire Services during emergencies, sources added.
