Residents of Hubi Colony, Sikh Bagh, Lal Bazar, Srinagar, are up in arms against the administrative move to divert a large chunk of vacant land, originally meant for a Fire and Emergency Services station, to residential plots. According to the locals, this decision could prove catastrophic for the area, which lacks emergency services during crises.
Locals told the news that a written directive had been issued by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, to the Assistant Director of the Fire and Emergency Services Department, instructing them to demarcate the land for the establishment of a fire station.
“A large population resides in this area, yet there is neither a local dispensary nor a fire station. We urged the government to address this. The Divisional Commissioner issued orders, and the open land in the middle of this colony was demarcated for this purpose. However, today, we saw men from the PW (R&B) Department visiting the site and re-demarcating it. They informed us that the land would now be allocated for residential plots. This is unnatural and a violation of the orders issued by the Divisional Commissioner. Lal Bazar is a large area, and we don’t have a fire station here. We will not allow our demand to be undermined or disregarded,” said Sofi Abdul Majeed Pampori, President of the Hubi Welfare Committee, Lal Bazar.
He added that the government must consider why it would deny a fire station to the area when residential plots could easily be allocated in other parts of Srinagar, such as Bemina or its peripheries
