PONDA, Nov. 1 -- Jolted by the recent devastating fire at the Vasco market, residents and social workers in Ponda have issued an ultimatum to the authorities over defunct firefighting infrastructure. Activists have threatened to drag the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC), the Public Works Department (PWD), and other concerned bodies to the High Court if the rusted fire hydrants at the municipal market complex and Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir are not repaired immediately.

Social workers Viraj Sapre and John Mascarenhas stated that authorities must not wait for a major disaster to strike Ponda. Mascarenhas noted that the Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services had submitted a comprehensive report exposing the defunct systems at the market compl...