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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

India state capacity fact of the day - fire safety

In the aftermath of the Kamala Mills fire accident, Livemint digs up this status report on India's fire safety preparedness,
A ministry of home affairs-sponsored study found that of the minimum 8,559 fire stations needed in the country, only 2,087 are in place, a shortage of 65%. Urban areas alone require an additional 4,200 fire stations just to meet the minimum standard for response time... As many as 17,700 Indians died—48 people every day—due to fire accidents in 2015, of which 10,925 (62%) were women.
Even where stations are available, the equipments available, they are insufficient and also woefully inadequate to fight fires in high rise buildings etc. 

And to pre-empt the natural inclination in such situations. No, I don't believe this should be outsourced. This is just one Exhibit. It has to be borne by the government. And local governments have to bear a significant share of the burden.

But how many states have transferred Fire Department to the local government under the 74th amendment?

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