The fire station operated by the Lalitpur Metropolitan City is struggling to provide service for want of adequate manpower.

The station is making do with only a team of four to five fire fighters against the standard group of at least nine-member manpower for a shift.

The metropolis has a total of 11 employees for the station, one its permanent employee and other contracted ones, and only a group of four to five fire fighters are available for a shift due to the shift adjustment, two shifts a day in the morning and the evening, said the Town Police Chief Kadam Lal Maharjan.

"As a result, a single worker is forced to do multiple tasks resulting in lack of quality work due to various reasons," he said. The Metropolis has four fire engines at present. RSS