Firemen with old uniforms being thrown out of parade

Mumbai : The firemen have been left with no uniforms since the last four to five years. Firemen are thrown out of the queue during the everyday parade, as they are not dressed in the required uniforms referred as ‘Line Thod’. ‘Line thod’ since the last one-month across all 33 fire stations (‘Line thod’ means violation of parade by firemen so they not allowed parade).

Only those firemen that have been recently recruited are apart of the everyday parade and drill with proper dresses. The daily parade is conducted with merely 120 firemen while the rest 2000 are not part of the parade with no uniforms. Acting chief fire officer Sunil Nestrikar said, parade and also fire drill were continuing by all 33 fire stations. But he has agreed for fire uniforms not provide by BMC to firemen from last 3-4 years.

Daily one and half-hour firemen are making parade and drill in each fire stations. This parade and drill is help for daily physical fitness of Firemen.

“Parade and drill time T- Shirt is most important cloth. But BMC last five years not provided T- Shirts to firemen. And without T- shirt parade means violation of parade by firemen so they not allowed parade. But how can we do parade on tattered old T- shirts?  Also old uniforms are tattering so how can we use these uniforms daily”, said firemen at Antop Hill command center, Shivaji Park and Byculla fire station.

BMC provides firemen with new uniforms each year, but for the last four- five years BMC has not provided uniforms to firemen. So we have used old uniform, said firemen to FPJ.

Suryakanat Mahadik president of Ladhau Agnishaman Dal Kamgar Sanghtana said, we have sent a letter to the commissioner regarding the fact that firemen have not been provided uniforms for several years from the BMC.

He further stated in the letter that parade ceremonial uniforms had started to wear out and wearing a torn uniform on the day of the parade could be seen as dishonouring the parade. “We have not asked any fireman to refrain from participating in the parade.

But they do not have proper uniforms. The t-shirt and pants that they wear are torn.

This is an insult to the parade and therefore the firemen are not participating in the parade.”

New joining Firemen said to FPJ, “last year, we 120 candidate have jointed in fire brigade department. But we have purchased our fire uniforms by our own pocket. Administrations said, we would provide uniforms money to new firemen.  But Administrations not gave money.”

Sachin Unhalekar