Lucknow, Oct 23 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday ordered reorganisation of the fire-fighting department and issued directions for setting up fire stations at every 100 km on expressways.

“Ensure the swift availability of fire and emergency services in every district. On the expressways, establish a small fire station equipped with a fire tender at every 100-kilometre distance, so that in the event of an accident, relief and rescue operations can be initiated within the golden hour,” said the CM at a meeting with officials.

Chief Minister Adityanath said that the fire service is a department directly linked to the safety of the public’s life and property, according to the statement issued on X by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

He said that the department’s structure should be such that it is capable of providing a swift, efficient, and responsive reaction in every situation.

“The process of reorganising the department should be completed in a time-bound manner, so that its benefits can reach the public promptly,” he said.

Considering the increasing population, industrial expansion, and pace of urbanisation in the state, it has become a need of the hour to make the structure of the Fire Department more robust, modern, and sensitive from the perspective of public safety, said CM Adityanath.

He said, “Instead of limiting the Fire Service merely to firefighting, it should be developed into an integrated form encompassing disaster management, rescue operations, and emergency services.”

To enhance the administrative capacity and financial transparency of the department, an Accounts Cadre should be established in each district. At the same time, additional posts should be created in the State Fire Service Training College to further improve the quality of training and research, he said, in the statement posted on X.

The Uttar Pradesh CM’s Office said in a post on X, “Following the instructions of CM Yogi Adityanath, the path has been paved for the creation of 98 new posts in the gazetted cadre and approximately 922 new posts in the non-gazetted cadre within the department.”

“This will provide new strength to the efficiency and public service capacity of the fire service at the district, regional, and headquarters levels,” said the CMO.

In the meeting, the Chief Minister was informed that, as new operational units, adequate manpower for firefighting services has already been deployed at the airports in Kushinagar, Azamgarh, Shravasti, Kanpur Nagar, Ayodhya, Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot, and Sonbhadra, said the statement.

–IANS

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