Its all work and no leave

“We are not in a position to enlist fresh manpower to our ranks, for Deepavali. The existing manpower will have to be used in a more efficient manner,” informed a Palike official. The BBMP will be deputing special officers and senior authorities on day and night rounds to prevent any untoward incident during the festival, beginning from tomorrow.
The Palike will have all its 4,500 pourakarmikas on duty to clear the garbage, that will be generated by firecrackers. Also, there will be another 7,000 personnel under  garbage contractors, who will be gathering waste and transporting it to dumping yards.
Thus, it is all work and no leave for employees of BBMP and Fire and Emergency Services.

More garbage
“There will be an increase in garbage load to be transported. We have already made arrangements to have more lorry trips to various parts of the city,” added the Palike official.
The BBMP has also directed all its zonal offices to ensure that no firecrackers stalls are set up on footpath, in its jurisdictions. Besides, control rooms will be working 24/7 to address distress calls.

BBMP Commissioner Bharath Lal Meena has asked the public to dispose garbage efficiently, near their homes.

“People should not use poisonous gases during the festival and thus save the environment. Conspicuously, the matter of setting a time limit to burst crackers has not been made by the Palike,” he added.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services have given permission to burst firecrackers in 40 locations in the City, as per government orders issued. “The locations were inspected jointly by Fire and Emergency Services and BBMP. The locations are away from residential and commercial areas,” informed Deputy Director, Fire and Emergency Services B K Hamppagol.

The Department has written to the City police underlining various clauses in approving licenses to firecracker stalls in the city. In all, Fire and Emergency Services have authorised 450-500 fire cracker stalls in the City.
“The police department have been informed to ensure that these stalls do not have electricity during nightfall and also that blocks of 10 stalls be created, in addition to providing   open space for safety purpose,” said Hamppagol.
The Department has also appealed to shop owners to have two buckets of water and ensure daily disposal of firecracker boxes to avoid any accidents.

Moreover, the Department is currently expecting about 100 distress calls over the next four days, to be redressed.