Fire truck sent 24km to wash MLA Bachu Khabad’s bungalow | Vadodara News

VADODARA: Firefighters from Devgadh Baria nagarpalika were deployed to wash the bungalow of BJP MLA and former minister Bachu Khabad on Sunday, triggering a controversy after videos of the operation went viral.The videos showed Devgadh Baria nagarpalika firemen spraying water on the outer walls of Khabad’s house. The fire vehicle travelled 24km to the bungalow at Pipero village in Dhanpur taluka.Nagarpalika officials said they were unaware of the purpose of the call when the fire vehicle was dispatched and later recovered charges from the Khabad family.“When the firemen arrived at the spot, they were told to wash the outer wall of the house. They began the work and called the fire chief who asked them to stop. I also got a call about it, after which I told them to collect the charges,” said Dharmesh Kalal, president of Devgadh Baria nagarpalika.“We got a call from nagarpalika president Dharmesh Kalal saying there was a fire call. I asked him if it was a special call or a fire call. He asked me to send the fire vehicle. When our men reached there, they were told by the MLA’s men to wash the outer wall of the MLA’s house,” said Mayur Chauhan, fire officer.“When I was informed about it, I asked them to stop the work and told my superiors about it. We then collected the necessary charges,” Chauhan said.Devgadh Baria nagarpalika charged Khabad’s son, Balvant, Rs 2,700 as fire charges.TOI tried to contact Bachu Khabad, but he did not respond to calls.Rajesh Raval, president of Devgadh Baria Congress unit, questioned the incident. “What if some untoward incident had occurred during this cleaning exercise? Who would have been responsible? We demand action against the person responsible,” he said.