Bani Has No Fire Station: What an RTI Reply Says and What the 102-Station Proposal Would Change

An RTI reply dated 7 October 2026 says that Bani tehsil in Kathua district has no Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) station and no fire tender. This explainer sets out what the reply says, what is proposed, and how any resident can ask a similar question.

What the reply says

• The application, number FIREE/R/2026/60027, was filed on 31 August 2026 by social activist Mudasar Ali. The Director, F&ES J&K replied on 7 October.
• No F&ES station is established in tehsil Bani and no tender is stationed there.
• The nearest station is F&ES Kathua, about 155 km away (the distance is the report's figure), which responds to Bani calls.
• Per the Kathua station in-charge, no fire tender was sent to any fire incident in Bani between April 2021 and April 2026. The station has attended fire-safety deployments in Bani as required.

What is proposed

A proposal for 102 new fire and emergency stations, including one for Bani, is under consideration and awaits government sanction. The reply gives no date for a decision. Himanshu Gandotra, Deputy Director and Command Officer, F&ES Samba-Kathua, is the designated authority for coordinating fire services in Kathua district, including Bani.

Why it matters on the ground

Greater Kashmir reports that Bani tehsil has over 33 villages and that, according to residents, over 90 per cent of houses are built of wood and tin sheet, and that fires have caused property losses worth crores. Mr Ali said: “Had there been a fire station in our area, the damage could have been less.” The report adds that Warwan in Kishtwar also lacks a local tender, with the nearest more than 80 km away. We could not find a response from the F&ES beyond the RTI reply itself.

How RTI works here

An RTI application asks a public authority for records it holds; the reply must come from that department's public information officer. Here, one question produced a dated, numbered answer anyone can check. Students and young professionals in the hill belt can use the same route to ask when a station, school or health centre was sanctioned.

Source: Greater Kashmir, 20 October 2026.