Sunday’s fire incident threw up a question or two for the PWD, water supply and the powers that be – are the fire hydrants laid by the government around the new market and surrounding area at a cost of Rs 79 lakh, commissioned and ready for use?
Well, this question came to the fore after the fire incident even though the occasion did not arise for the fire brigade to return back to the fire station for refilling of the tender since they used a long tender to bring the fire under control.
Inquiries conducted by The Goan has only revealed that though dedicated water pipeline and the fire hydrants have been laid by the PWD, water supply, the same has not been commissioned till date.
PWD sources conceded that the contractor executing the work has tested the line, but no communiqué has till date gone to the Fire services to use the fire hydrants. Nor has the PWD handed over the fire hydrants to the fire services for effective use of the facility.
The inquiry has further raised another moot question – will the dedicated water pipeline laid by the PWD provide adequate water pressure to sustain the fire fighting in the event of a major fire tragedy.
In this respect, sources said the Fire services may not get the required water pressure, insisting that only the installation of a pump can meet the water requirement in fire fighting operations.
With no dedicated space available to build an overhead water tank in the congested New Market and Gandhi market, PWD sources pointed out that only the installation of a pump can tide over the water pressure required to operate fire hydrants.
Meanwhile, Madganvcho Aawaz has said that Sunday’s fire incident in Margao, with non-functional fire hydrants, vindicates the concerns NGO raised on 20th April 2025 and again on 4th April 2026.
Youth Leader Prabhav Naik pointed out that despite repeated announcements and promises, nothing has moved on the ground. “More than two years have passed since the first assurance, yet Margao continues to remain without a fully functional fire hydrant network and the promised water tank. Today’s incident is the direct consequence of this failure to deliver,” Naik said.
He pointed out that after another fire incident at the New Market on 4th April 2026, Madganvcho Awaaz had once again raised serious concerns over the haphazard laying of fire hydrant pipelines and questioned the continued delay in constructing the promised water tank and commissioning the fire hydrant network. The organisation had cautioned that incomplete and poorly executed fire safety infrastructure would prove disastrous during emergencies.
He demanded that authorities must explain why the fire hydrants remained non-functional during today’s emergency and who is responsible for the inordinate delay in commissioning the fire hydrant network despite repeated assurances.
He further demanded that accountability be fixed on all officials and agencies concerned, and that the long-promised fire safety infrastructure, including the dedicated water tank and hydrant system, be completed and made fully operational without any further delay.
