Chandigarh: Punjab will soon have a fire safety training center and a Rs 500 crore plan has been submitted to the Directorate General of Fire Services and Civil Defence for transforming fire services, state Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said here today. 

He said the Centre has assured every possible help to the state in this regard. Besides, a separate project worth Rs 262.50 crore has been submitted to the Union Urban Development Ministry, Sidhu said. The minister said till date, the fire services sector has been largely ignored which accounted for the numerous fire accidents in Punjab, and asserted that he has instructed the department to prepare detailed project reports to address the issue. 

He said the Centre has granted approval for the opening of a fire safety training center. Sidhu said he also got a favorable response from the Union Minister of State for Urban Development Hardeep Puri to whom a Rs 262 crore project was submitted.

The state government would take special care to ensure that no fireman goes into the fire extinguishing operations without ultra-modern fire suit, he said. The minister said the Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Act would be enforced strictly. In the coming days, Sidhu said, his department would compile a list of the buildings violating the Act in the state and the owners would be served notices