Thousands of Madhya Pradesh government files were gutted in the massive fire at the Satpura Bhawan in Bhopal. But what does files being reduced to ashes mean in this digital age when data is stored on hard disks and in the cloud?
The massive fire that broke out at Bhopal's Satpura Bhawan has resulted in the burning of many important files kept there. The building houses several Madhya Pradesh government departments. But were all documents digitised? And what does a fire destroying physical files mean in the age of computers?
A masive fire started on the third floor of Satpura Bhawan on Monday evening and spread to the sixth floor. The building houses offices of various departments of the Madhya Pradesh government.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called a review meeting regarding the fire, which was attended by senior officers. They presented facts before the chief minister and other ministers regarding the blaze.
As thousands of files and assets were engulfed in the massive fire, the Opposition hit out at the BJP-led government for “corruption” and “foul play” ahead of the state Assembly election due later this year.
But, how many files were actually burnt? And will hard drives or digitised copies of those files help in retrieving them? The other big question, were all documents really digitised?
How many files were burnt in the fire?
The fire allegedly gutted furniture worth Rs 25 crore and over 12,000 important files. However, Rajesh Rajoura, a member of the committee formed to investigate the fire, said, "It is not possible to go inside the building. Hence, it would not be factually correct to say how many files have been burnt."
He said the number of affected files can only be ascertained after the investigation is complete.
Which departments were affected the most?
Departments like Tribal Affairs, Health, Forest, Chief Minister Monitoring Case, Public Grievances and National Information System operate on the sixth floor of Satpura Bhawan. Hence, the documents of these departments were subject to fire.
Documents related to the establishment of health services, complaints branch and assembly questions kept in these departments have been burnt. The service records, complaint documents and budget accounting documents of employees on the fourth floor of the building were also burnt to ashes.
Were all Satpura Bhawan documents digitised?
There is no data available on the number of health department files kept at Bhopal's Satpura Bhawan, that have also been digitalised, sources said. However, some departments have heavy reliance on written documents, like the complaint department.
Were files related to Covid-related payments burnt?
According to some reports, files related to payments made to hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic were also gutted in the fire. However, an official confirmation in this regard is still awaited.
Which files were not affected by the fire?
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that documents related to purchasing and tendering in the offices were not affected by the fire. Medicines, equipment and furniture for hospitals were also not affected, as they were kept on the second floor.
Will hard disks help in retrieving burnt files?
Talking about files that were burnt in the fire, MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that information about state and central government schemes will be recovered from the hard disk, although it may require some work. He said, "Many files were saved in digital format. So it would be wrong to say that files and records were burnt in the fire.
What will happen to complaints and queries raised by people?
Questions asked by people to the MLAs are answered in a digital format. However, most questions are sent in a written format, as compared to those received via email. It is feared that the written complaints sent by people may have burnt to ashes, as fire also broke out at that department.
When will the investigation in this case be over?
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a committee to investigate the cause of the fire at Satpura Bhawan. The committee will present the investigation report of this fire in the next three days. ACS Home Rajesh Rajoura, PS Urban Neeraj Mandloi, PS PWD Sukhbir Singh and the ADG Fire will be part of the committee.
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