new delhi prepares to DIE

In case of war, parched Delhi would burn
Kavita Bajeli-Datt (IANS)
New Delhi, June 1

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If a war between Pakistan and India breaks out and Pakistani jets hit the Indian capital, the city's understaffed and resource-strapped fire department would struggle to cope.

The Delhi Fire Service has only 82 fire tenders, too few to even meet the sprawling 15 million-strong city's everyday needs.

"I admit that if there are more than three serious fires at the same time, we will find it difficult to tackle them," Chief Fire Officer R.C. Sharma told IANS. "In instances where we have to battle more than four or five blazes, we will try to see that it doesn't spread to other areas at least.

Even if all goes better than expected, there is another problem -- there isn't enough water. Fire officials are now advising residents to keep some buckets of water stored and ready in their homes, just in case...

"For fighting three serious fires, we have enough water. But after that there will be a crisis and we would have to depend on underground stored water," Sharma said.

He conceded a power breakdown could add to the chaos as it would disrupt water supply.

The Delhi Fire Service, considered the best in the country, has 1,500 men. "If there is an emergency, we have 130 more men who have been given training."

Three disaster management units have already started functioning, in which 15 policemen have been trained to rescue people in extraordinary situations. "If we need their help, they will give us assistance in attending to fire calls," Sharma said.

Representatives of the fire department, police, civil defence and civic utilities met under Delhi Chief Secretary Shailja Chandra Thursday. They assessed the preparedness of the various departments, though officials said the meeting had nothing to do with the war clouds hovering over the region.

While the fire chief said his undermanned department was prepared for any eventuality, he appealed for cooperation from the residents.

"Our men are fighting fires day in and day out. And we are equipped to handle a fire ignited by a bomb, a matchstick or a short circuit," said Sharma.

"But we expect support from the residents as we cannot reach everywhere and do everything. It will be a great help if residents store at least four buckets of water so that a small fire could not turn into a major one. They cannot just run away from their house and leave it to us."

Sharma said his department has asked the Delhi municipality to keep at least 300 underground water tanks full. "Thirty-five per cent of them are either leaking or are not maintained," said Sharma, adding that fire accidents peak in summer and that is when most of the tanks are dry.

The fire department has its own water storage facility and fire tenders with capacities ranging from 16,000 litres to 4,500 litres. And, at any given time, 20 per cent of the fire tenders are undergoing repair.

"We are getting 11 more fire tenders and we want to bring our repair work to 10 per cent," Sharma said.

But what if the world's worst fears come true and India and Pakistan unleash a nuclear war? Simple, said Sharma. No one is equipped to handle that.

Researchers from Princeton University in New Jersey say up to three million people could die even in a limited nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan. Their projection, published in the New Scientist magazine, says India would face the worst of the fallout because winds generally blow from the west.

A US Defence Intelligence Agency analysis quoted by The New York Times says between eight and 12 million people could die in the short term in case of a full-scale nuclear war.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/010602/dlcit01.asp