Ludhiana, Oct. 25 -- As Ludhiana gears up for Diwali, its fire department finds itself grappling with a pressing concern - a shortage of drivers to operate its fleet of fire tenders at a time when emergency calls are expected to surge. Armed with 29 fire tenders spread across six fire stations, the department has just 18 drivers on its payroll, prompting it to seek 20 additional drivers from the municipal corporation to keep its emergency response machinery running round the clock.

The manpower crunch has cast a shadow over the department's festive preparedness, particularly as the use of firecrackers heightens the risk of fire incidents across the city.

The scale of the challenge is evident from last year's figures. The department rece...