A local construction factory owner has been accused of using Rescue 1122 fire brigade vehicles to aid his business interests.
According to police officials in Faisalabad, two to three Rescue 1122 vehicles are allegedly being used for the construction of a private factory in the area. “The fire brigade hose has been used to water down the freshly constructed cement and the factory owner is using these vehicles to transport construction materials,” said an eyewitness Jameel Khan.
According to local residents, the incident was reported on Sargodha road near Samana Pul. “Several people have seen the fire brigade vehicles make daily trips to the site to hose down the building and to transport bricks and other materials to and from the place,” said a local resident.
The factory owner, Mushtaq Raheem, was accused of pressuring local politicians to put in a word for him to use the official vehicles. “They have been harassing the department. He actually said that ‘while Rescue officials aren’t putting out fires they should help him build his factory’,” said a fire brigade official who chose to remain anonymous. “We have been making daily trips to this site and hosing down the property for three days instead of taking emergency calls. We’ve also been asked not to ask any questions and transport raw materials to and from the construction site,” he said.
“This is shameful. He has been using rescue resources for construction rather than letting these people do their job,” said a local resident Aimen Khawar. “What if ambulances were now used to transport furniture instead of patients? This is just as wrong,” she added.
“This is an under construction factory which is being provided water through these government vehicles. No one even questioned the practice until the fire brigade switched off their radio and stopped taking calls to serve the construction factory’s interest,” said a fire brigade official. “Several staff members reported the matter to the press but we don’t want to lose our jobs,” said a junior fire brigade official.
Factory owner Mushtaq Raheem said that he was unaware of any fire brigade vehicles parked on his property. “I have done nothing wrong and the vehicles I hired to hose the building down are not fire brigade or rescue vehicles,” he said.
“How can he say they are not rescue vehicles when they have the official Rescue 1122 seal on the van as well as the tools to put out fires,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the DO (Fire Brigade) said he was unaware of the incident. “I have not heard about any rescue vehicles being used under false pretenses. An investigation has been launched into the matter and strict action will be taken if the allegations are proven true,” he said.
Fire brigade officials say they were sent on the application of an influential person. “The department received a phone call to send the vans and the only way to find out who made the call is to go through the factory records as well as the phone records,” they said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ