City gets new fire tenders refill points

Mumbai: The recent fire outbreaks in the city have prompted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) hydraulic department to increase filling points through which tankers can refill water at a high pressure 24/7. A civic official said that while earlier 18 such points were in use in the city, the number has been increased to 50.

“Water supply in the city is intermittent, which sometimes affects operations of the fire brigade during an accident. British-era fire hydrants are of no use since because they do not have required pressure to fill the tanks quickly. That’s why we decided to increase the tanker filling points in the city,” said A.S. Tawadia, chief hydraulic engineer, BMC.  He added, “The (new) points have been set up in locations where the supply is uninterrupted.”  

In 2015, BMC chief Ajoy Mehta had said that the British-era fire hydrants could not be activated in low water pressure. According to reports, Mumbai has more than 10,000 defunct hydrants.