Gurugram, Jan. 10 -- Gurugram will soon get at least 10 new fire stations as part of a statewide plan to strengthen fire services infrastructure, said fire department officials on Friday. Under this project, approved by Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, 59 new fire stations will be constructed across Haryana. Of these, 10 stations have been sanctioned for Gurugram. Officials said that the move is to ensure that there is one fire station for every 10 square kilometres area, reducing response time in fire and rescue operations, particularly in high-rise areas. Currently, there are seven fire stations in Gurugram. According to fire department officials, Gurugram's dense residential sectors, industrial clusters and commercial hubs have made it critical to upgrade firefighting infrastructure. "With the addition of new stations, the average response time will come down substantially," an official said. In addition to the new stations, the Gurugram fire department will also receive two hydraulic platforms, to the current fleet of one, designed to tackle fires in high-rise buildings. These platforms can reach heights of up to 42 metres, allowing firefighters to access upper floors of multi-storey residential and commercial towers that are otherwise difficult to reach using conventional ladders. At present, the department has limited equipment to handle fires above a certain height, often forcing teams to rely on assistance from neighbouring districts. "The new platforms will strengthen our capacity to handle vertical rescue operations independently," an official added. The statewide project involves an estimated investment of Rs.200 crore, which includes construction of new fire stations, procurement of modern fire tenders, hydraulic platforms and other equipment. Apart from Gurugram, new stations have also been sanctioned for districts such as Faridabad, Hisar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat and Yamunanagar, among others, based on population density and urban growth patterns. CM Saini said that site identification for the new stations in Gurugram is already underway and construction is expected to begin soon....