Kamal Ghorui
Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) board sanctioned Rs 100 crore to strengthen firefighting capacity in the city, days after a major blaze at Gaur Green Avenue in Indirapuram exposed the district’s limited ability to tackle fires in highrises.The board, chaired by Meerut divisional commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami, approved the purchase of two hydraulic platforms with a reach of 102 metres, enough to fight fires in buildings up to around 30 storeys. At present, the district fire department has only one hydraulic platform, with a reach of 42 metres, or roughly 14 storeys.Around 20 residents were rescued and 10 suffered minor injuries and smoke inhalation after flames ripped through five floors and gutted eight flats in Tower D of Gaur Green.The board approved 13 agenda items in all. Apart from fire safety, it kept open all three routes — land pooling, mutual consent and acquisition — for procuring 200 hectares for the proposed Aero City project in Morti. It also cleared a framework for a proposed international cricket stadium as a joint venture between GDA and the UP Cricket Association, with both sides as equal stakeholders in land procurement, construction and operations.The board also gave its nod for a land-use change for 6,959sqm in Indirapuram from commercial to group housing, aimed at creating more dwelling units in a land-scarce township.To push the second phase of the Harnandipuram township project, it sanctioned a budget for acquiring 123 hectares across Bhawapur, Morta and Shahpur Nij Morta through mutual consent at an estimated cost of Rs 2,179 crore.
