Chandni Chowk to get own fire tenders, ambulances soon

Fire tenders and ambulances will soon be deployed in and around Delhi's iconic Chandni Chowk to deal with emergency situations in the area known for its heritage buildings and old markets.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has said an exercise to identify fire-prone locations for deployment of fire tenders as also for deployment of ambulances is being undertaken by the fire department.

The "initiative will be started from Chandni Chowk before Diwali", he said.

Saxena visited Chandni Chowk in old Delhi on Wednesday and interacted with members of various traders' associations, RWAs and a section of visitors in a bid to upgrade amenities in the heritage precinct, facilitate smooth conduct of trade and make shopping a pleasing experience in heritage market, officials said on Thursday.

"They complained about overhanging electric wires that often lead to fire incidents in the area and requested for L-G's immediate intervention to address the issue," the Raj Niwas said in a statement.

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They brought to his notice, several restrictions and problems that not only affected their daily businesses but also caused hardships to a large number of people, particularly the elderly, women and children, residing in the area, it said.

A stretch of Chandni Chowk has been revamped as part of the Delhi government's redevelopment project.

Delhi chief secretary, special officer of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), special commissioner of police (traffic) and several other senior officers of MCD, Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Police accompanied the L-G during the visit, it said.

The L-G was also informed that apart from over 60 katras that attract lakhs of people every day, nearly 60,000 people also reside in the narrow bylanes of Chandni Chowk and massive congestion often leads to fire and medical emergencies, it said.

To this, the L-G assured that very soon fire tenders and ambulances will be deployed in and around the Chandni Chowk area to deal with any such emergency situations, the statement said.

Katras in Chandni Chowk will also get a facelift, it said.

The L-G instructed officials to identify and develop one 'katra' as a pilot, and later replicate the model to other katras and markets in Chandni Chowk, the statement said.

The re-development of the katra envisages facade improvement, removing overhanging electric wires, repair of footpaths, drainage and repair and maintenance of street lights among other works, it said.

During his visit, the L-G, accompanied by the officials, took a round of the main market from the iconic Town Hall to Katra Neel, and back to the Red Fort and interacted with several local traders and visitors to the market. He also visited the historic 'Ghalib Ki Haveli' in Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran area.

Earlier this month, the Delhi Fire Service formed an internal committee headed by the Chief Fire Officer to identify 50 mishap-prone spots in the national capital where mobile fire tenders can be deployed, an official said on Sunday.

Places like Chandi Chowk and Sadar Bazar may have fire stations nearby but due to the congested and narrow lanes, the tenders take time to reach there, a mobile fire tender and PCR van will reach such places in the shortest time possible.