HYDERABAD: After a gap of 22 years, the city is adding one more to its list of fire stations. The foundation stone for the Cyberabad Fire Station at Madhapur,one of the most advanced fire stations the city has ever had, was laid by Director-General of Fire Services Alok Srivastava here on Thursday.

This will be the 16th in the city, which as per national norms, should have 98 fire stations at the rate of one for every 10 sq. km or a population of 50,000.

The Rs.45-lakh new station, expected to be completed by March 2007, will be the first in the city to have more than one hydraulic pump-fitted fire engines.

A proposal to equip this fire station to fight fire accidents in buildings up to a height of 96 metres or a 100-storeyed building is also in an "advanced stage of consideration" by the Government. The existing height capacity is 54 metres, Mr. Srivastava said.

APIIC association

Being built by the Fire Services Department in association with the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and funded by the Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA) of Serilingampally, the Cyberabad fire-fighting facility is the first to be sanctioned by the Government in the city after the Malakpet fire station was sanctioned way back in 1984, he said.

The process of floating tenders for equipment for the Cyberabad station and to recruit the sanctioned Home Guards was progressing, Mr. Srivastava said.

Similar public-private partnership fire stations, funded by the respective IALAs, were being planned in other industrial areas including Jeedimetla, Cherlapally and Shamsabad, APIIC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director B.P. Acharya said.

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