The huge Hyderabad Metro Rail depots at Uppal and Miyapur, with each having up to 100 acres area and from where the inaugural run is going to happen from next week, will also be housing two new fully equipped fire service stations soon. These fire stations will not be for metro rail properties alone, but will also be catering to the surrounding areas, clarified Director General of TS Disaster Response & Fire Services Rajiv Ratan.
Space of about 1,000 sq.yards has been earmarked inside these two depots by the Hyderabad Metro Rail authorities concerned when the requirement was pointed out and also because it was becoming difficult to source land within the capital for fire service stations.
“This is apart from the 18 new fire stations approved by the government and we are hoping to start construction work in next few months to make it ready within a year. Manpower and other requirements will be taken up with the government,” he explained.
Earlier, the department had taken up intensive checks of the 24 metro stations on the inaugural route and issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs), conducted a dry run to check for fire safety measures and had also taken up mock drills at the Miyapur and Kukatpally metro stations in preparation for the Prime Minister’s visit, on Saturday afternoon.
“Metro stations are well equipped with L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) installing the best of equipment as per international standards but keeping them functional and ensuring entries and exits are free from any obstacles is an ongoing process so we will keep checking on them time to time for public safety,” said Mr. Ratan.
In fact, the fire service clearance certificate issued by the department formed part of the crucial all-round safety clearance issued by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) for the 30-km route. More interestingly, two experienced fire personnel with necessary emergency equipment will be present inside the trains when the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and other VIPs travel on November 28 as part of the safety precautions.
Published - November 26, 2017 07:27 am IST
