Bhiwandi: Despite a surge in warehouse fires and industrial accidents across Bhiwandi, the BNCMC Fire Department is functioning with barely one-third of its sanctioned manpower. Modern engines, rescue vans and upgraded gear lie idle not due to lack of resources, but because there are simply not enough trained firefighters to operate them. The lives of lakhs of residents and the safety of more than 50,000 warehouses now hang in the balance.

The Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) Fire Department the city’s primary emergency response unit is under severe strain due to an alarming shortage of staff. The department has received new fire engines, rescue vehicles and modern equipment over the past few years, but its firefighting capacity has been badly compromised as critical posts remain vacant and recruitment has stalled for nearly a decade.

Bhiwandi city houses more than 12 lakh residents, with another 4 lakh living in surrounding rural pockets. Despite this massive population and a sprawling high-risk warehouse belt, the responsibility of handling fires and industrial accidents falls solely on the BNCMC fire brigade.

Years of halted recruitment have pushed the force to operate at a fraction of the required strength.

Official data shows that out of 160 sanctioned posts, only 49 are currently filled. Key leadership positions including Chief Fire Officer and Deputy Chief Fire Officer remain vacant, placing extraordinary pressure on in-charge officers.

To fill immediate gaps, BNCMC is even forced to use drivers from the vehicle department to operate fire tenders a practice firefighters say is unsafe and unsustainable.

The BNCMC Fire Department maintains a substantial fleet of 32 emergency vehicles, including fire engines, multipurpose engines, water browsers, mini-tenders, rescue vans and fire bikes.

However, several of these vehicles remain idle due to a shortage of trained operators. Fire bikes procured specifically to navigate narrow, congested lanes have not been deployed for more than a year.

Data from 2021 to 2024 highlights rising pressure on the already depleted force:
• 546 fire incidents in the city
• 479 fire incidents in rural areas
• 510 rescue operations in the city
• 201 rescue operations in rural areas

The rural warehouse belt poses the biggest challenge, with narrow lanes, broken roads, water scarcity and chronic congestion. Many godowns store flammable chemicals, causing fires to burn for up to two days and requiring assistance from Thane, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar brigades.

Bhiwandi’s rural region hosts more than 50,000 warehouses belonging to major national and international companies. Lakhs of workers travel daily to this logistics hub.

Since 2009, this entire belt has been under MMRDA jurisdiction, which collects crores in development charges annually. Yet, not a single fire station exists in the area.

Despite MMRDA stating in 2021 that an independent fire station had been approved, no progress has been visible in four years.

Rajesh Pawar, in-charge of the BNCMC Fire Department, said,“We have repeatedly requested the government to approve recruitment for the vacant posts. Without adequate manpower, operations become extremely difficult.”

With fire incidents rising, warehouse zones expanding and leadership posts lying vacant, Bhiwandi’s fire brigade is facing one of the gravest crises in its history. Equipment and vehicles are available but the severe shortage of trained staff has become the biggest threat to lives, property and one of Maharashtra’s largest logistics hubs.

New Delhi, Dec 1: Gross enrolment under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a bid to create a universal social security system for all, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector, has reached 8,34,13,738 (as on October 31), the Parliament was informed on Monday.

APY was launched in 2015 with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians. It is open to all citizens of India between 18 and 40 years of age who have a savings account in a bank or post office.

As per the Scheme, the subscriber will receive pension benefits on attaining the age of 60 years.

“Hence, the pension benefit under APY is expected to start from 2035 onwards. However, the gross enrolment under Atal Pension Yojana as on 31.10.2025 is 8,34,13,738,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question.

As on October 31, the female gross enrolment under APY is 4,04,41,135, which is 48 per cent of the total enrolment, she noted.

Further, in Bihar, the female gross enrolment under APY is 42,07,233, which is 57 per cent of the total enrolment in the state.

“As on 31.10.2025, a total of 7,153 Bank branches and 461 Post Office branches are enrolling people into APY in Bihar,” the Finance Minister stated.

The government and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) have taken several steps to increase awareness and coverage of APY across the country, including rural and remote areas of Bihar.

These include periodic advertisements; APY Subscribers Information Brochure in 13 vernacular languages; and virtual capacity building programmes for Banking Correspondents (BCs) and field staff of Banks, Self Help Group (SHG) members, and bank-sakhis of State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs).

During the last five years, such programmes have been conducted across various districts of Bihar, including in Muzaffarpur, Patna, Bhojpur, and Nalanda.

Recently, financial inclusion campaigns for pension saturation were organised pan-India India including 8,093 such campaigns in Bihar, said Sitharaman.

Bhopal, Dec 1: The five-day Winter Session of the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha started with vociferous protests and a novel play by the Opposition members in and outside the House on Monday.

As the day’s business began, Congress legislators led by the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, Umang Singhar, braving the December cold, staged a symbolic protest that caught widespread media attention.

A group of Congress MLAs arrived holding posters highlighting the Coldrif cough syrup tragedy that killed over 25 children in Chhindwara and other adjoining districts a few months back.

The children, mostly under five years of age, suffered acute kidney failure and severe brain damage after consuming the contaminated syrup. Laboratory tests confirmed that the Coldrif syrup contained dangerously high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG), with one batch showing a concentration of nearly 48.6 per cent, significantly above the internationally accepted safe limit of 0.1 per cent.

The Opposition MLAs’ protest over the tragedy took a novel form as they performed a scripted play to highlight the Coldrif cough syrup tragedy. One woman Congress MLA played the role of demoness ‘Surpanakha’ and Singhar had a dialogue with her.

While this dramatic protest was going on, a group of Congress MLAs was standing in a circle with posters carrying slogans blaming the ruling BJP for the horrific incident.

“Corruption has peaked under the BJP government and the list of scams is growing. More than 25 innocent children have died due to the contaminated Coldrif cough syrup in Chhindwara,” Singhar told media persons.

He accused the BJP government of trying to suppress the Opposition’s voice and divert attention from public issues by curtailing the session’s length.

The five-day Vidhan Sabha session will have four sittings for discussion on key issues and at least three key Bills (Amendment) will be presented in the House.

For the ongoing Winter session, the Assembly Secretariat has received a total of 1,497 questions from the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the state.

It has also received 194 notices for calling-attention motions, six adjournment motions, 14 private members’ resolutions, 52 zero-hour submissions, two notices under Rule 139 and 15 petitions.