Accidental fire has gutted an annexe in the Secretariat in Srinagar. It is reported that record of six departments and 300 service books of state employees have been reduced to ashes. Dumping official records in a structure made of wood is in no way a sensible thing to do. Officials in charge should have pre-empted the possibility incidental fire destroying the entire record. They should have removed it from there and placed it in a safe place. Why was not this precaution taken? Secondly, unconfirmed reports say that fire might have taken place owing to short circuit. Those in whose custody the records were placed should have carried out intermittent checks to ensure that no mishaps on account of short circuit will take place at any time. The location of the annexe, too, is a questionable issue. Why should an annexe have been constructed so close to the residential quarters that the flames leaping from the fire that engulfed the annexe threatened the houses of adjacent civilian population.
The question of fire tenders arriving late has also to be looked into. But, we have to want full report from the enquiry before coming to any conclusion. The fire fighting authorities have stated that they moved in shortest possible time and undertook dousing of the flames which took some time because the building was made of timber which catches and spreads fire very quickly. It has to be remembered that in an accident of fire, cooperation from the public is of ital importance. Further, the inquiry has also to establish that this was not an act of sabotage.
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