Panvel, May 28: In a dramatic protest against the Panvel Municipal Corporation’s fire department, angry Shiv Sena workers pasted stickers displaying the personal mobile number of Chief Fire Officer Pravin Bodkhe on fire brigade vehicles after residents failed to contact the official emergency helpline during a fire incident in Panvel city.
The protest erupted after a fire broke out around 4 a.m. on Sunday in the electricity meter room of the Jalaram Savitri building opposite the Jain temple in Panvel’s cloth market area.
Helpline failure sparks outrage
According to Shiv Sena leader Adv. Swapnil Upadhye, repeated attempts to contact the Panvel fire brigade on its official number, 022-27461500, failed as callers reportedly received a message stating that the number did not exist.
“Despite repeated attempts, the fire brigade number remained unreachable. During emergencies, every second matters. We were forced to search for alternative ways to alert the authorities, which delayed efforts to control the fire,” Upadhye said.
Unable to contact the Panvel fire station, residents eventually sought assistance from the New Panvel fire brigade. The communication breakdown triggered anger among local residents and Shiv Sena workers, who accused the civic administration of negligence.
Following the incident, Shiv Sena city chief Adv. Prathamesh Soman visited the fire brigade office and demanded immediate corrective measures.
Shiv Sena protests, administration responds
“Emergency services cannot afford such failures. If citizens are unable to contact the fire brigade during a crisis, lives and property are put at risk. The administration must ensure that emergency helplines remain operational round the clock,” Soman said.
As part of the protest, Shiv Sena workers pasted Bodkhe’s personal mobile number on fire brigade vehicles, demanding that backup emergency contact systems be made available immediately for citizens.
The protest appears to have pushed the civic administration into action. Responding to the controversy, Chief Fire Officer Pravin Bodkhe said the disruption occurred due to technical issues.
“The phone line became non-functional because of technical problems. However, contact numbers of officials are already available on the Panvel Connect app for public assistance,” Bodkhe said.
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He added that the department has now decided to introduce optical phone systems at all fire stations as an alternative arrangement.
“The Panvel city fire brigade number has also been shifted to an optical phone system to avoid such incidents in the future,” he said.
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