'Avoid firecrackers during marriages'

Chhapra: Keeping in mind the recent Kerala temple incident in which several devotees were charred to death in a fire caused by use of firecrackers, Saran district magistrate (DM) Deepak Anand on Tuesday asked the SDOs and BDOs to discourage people from bursting crackers in marriage processions.

Expressing concern over recent incidents of fire in the district, the DM said, "I have asked the officials concerned to provide relief to the affected families without any delay."

Due to hot westerly wind and rise in mercury, fire broke out at different places in the district in the last two days rendering several people homeless. More than 200 families in different villages of the district have been affected.

"The district has five fire tenders stationed at Chhapra,

Marhoura

and Sonepur," said Santosh Kumar Pandey, district fire officer. He admitted that due to non-availability of reserve water, the vehicles sometimes take time in reaching the incident site causing loss to life and properties.

Pandey said a proposal to make hydrants available at more places in the district has been sent to the government for approval. "Currently, the facility is available only at Chhapra, Sonepur and Marhoura," Pandey said.