Delhi Fire department on alert for Diwali; 17 Standby vehicles deployed amid high electrical load, says Deputy Chief Fire Officer

New Delhi [India], October 17 (ANI): Ahead of the Diwali festival, the Delhi Fire Department has heightened its preparedness to tackle fire-related incidents across the national capital.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer A.K. Malik said, "Diwali is such a festival that even without crackers, we still get a lot of calls. Because the electrical load is quite high that day."
He added, "Our preparation for this is that we have identified 17 spots where we have parked the vehicles. Because we face traffic problems, it is festival season. There is a lot of traffic on the roads. Our approach time increases. To reduce this, we have deployed seventeen standby vehicles. In addition, 24 of our vehicles are already deployed round the clock."
Malik further said, "We have already given instructions to the staff. We have cancelled all two-day holidays. None of our staff is on leave. Everyone will be on duty on the 19th and 20th."
Meanwhile, following the Supreme Court's interim order allowing the restricted sale and use of green crackers in Delhi, the Delhi Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has moved swiftly to ensure responsible celebrations during Diwali.
"This decision brings relief to Delhi residents who wished to celebrate Diwali the traditional way. Our government respects people's religious and cultural sentiments, and we have worked tirelessly to ensure they can celebrate responsibly without harming the environment," said Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
Acting immediately after the court's directive, Sirsa convened back-to-back meetings with enforcement authorities and PESO-certified retailers to operationalise the Supreme Court's directions.
According to an official release, the high-level coordination meetings were attended by Divisional Commissioner Neeraj Semwal, Special Commissioner Ravindra Yadav, DPCC Chairman Sandeep Kumar, and senior officers from PESO, NEERI, MCD, NDMC, and Delhi Police.
The Delhi Government will continue to monitor AQI levels from October 14 to 25 through the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and submit daily reports to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Court, in line with the judicial directive. (ANI)