Meghdoot was supposed to rise high and help. On the contrary, it is grounded.

The 42m hydraulic ladder bought in late 2005 from Italy at Rs 3 crore, has seldom been used by the fire department. At present, it is defunct since a year, waiting for repairs.

Sources in the fire department said the machine, which has electronic as well as manual control system, was lying in the Patna City fire station since a year. The execution of repair work is stuck in government red tape.

"In summer, more fires break out. If one talks about the Patna fire office, almost two to three complaints come in daily. Even now, a complaint has come about a blaze at the Boring Road area. On May 23, a fire broke out in one of the rooms of the Bihar School Examination Board office. So far as the hydraulic ladder is concerned, one can say it has been unused mostly and has been out of work owing to some technical snags since the past year. The electronic system is not working. Since it was made in Italy, experts have to come from Delhi . The department is in the process of contacting them. Documents have been passed in this regard," an official told The Telegraph.

When contacted, state fire officer Clement Florain agreed. "The department has got two ladders. The other is 17m. The first one is state-of-the-art but there have been snags in it. Earlier too, the machine landed in a technical snag but it was repaired. The process and work towards making it functional again is going on and we feel it will take three to four months. Once fixed, it will be put to work, as it can prove useful in high-rise buildings. The 17m ladder is functional though," Florian said.

When the ladder had arrived, RJD chief Lalu Prasad had named it Meghdoot.

"The equipment has seldom been used since its arrival. Most of the times, it has been out of order. One of the reasons is that the state did not have a proper place to keep it. In 2011, the machine developed a snag and then it had to be sent to Ahmedabad for repair. The machine arrived after six months and was kept at the Lodhipur fire station in Patna in the open. Right now, the equipment is kept at the Patna City fire station safely. The fire stations have been revamped and the machine, which is mounted on a vehicle, is not kept in the open," an official said.

The plan to provide foam-based fire tenders to police stations has not gained much pace too.