The West Bengal government was planning to introduce drones for fire-fighting operations in the state, Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose said on Tuesday.

Speaking in the assembly, he said 75 new fire engines and six hydraulic ladders would be inducted into service in January.

"The number of fire incidents in Kolkata has gone down. In 2022-23, there were 1,590 incidents of fire, and in 2023-2024, it was 920," he said in reply to a question.

Bose said the revamped Kalighat and Tollygunge fire stations in Kolkata, and the new ones in Kalimpong district and Labhpur in Birbhum district would be made operational soon.

New fire stations are being planned in Tarapith in Birbhum, Banarhat in Jalpaiguri, Itahar in Uttar Dinajpur, and Darjeeling, he said.

Later, Bose told reporters that the state government was planning to gradually introduce 10 drones for fire-fighting operations.

The minister said that investigations into some incidents of fire in Kolkata have revealed that "dishonest" businessmen have "deliberately" torched their properties for insurance money.

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