Amdavadis can’t get documents they need as termite-infested files choke fire station
Documents piling up has turned the fire station into a tinderbox waiting to go up in flames; PICS: NILKANTH DAVE
With digitisation of documents delayed at Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services headquarters, important papers like occurrence reports used as evidence in crime cases and to settle insurance claims are crumbling
Delay in digitising documents at Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services headquarters in Danapith has turned into a big hassle for Amdavadis.
Occurrence reports used for insurance claims and submitted as evidence in crime cases are infested with termites. Fire safety records are buried in layers of dust. Documents older than two years are unavailable, and those that are available are crumbling due to improper storage apart from being a fire hazard. As settlement of insurance cases take years, these papers may not be available when required, fear citizens.
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An official, on condition of anonymity, revealed, “The three most important databases – the log book which records vehicle movement, the occurrence book which details the fire incidents in the city and the duty book which details the attendance of staff – all are still in physical format and if they are needed at the headquarters, they have to be ordered here as there is no digital entry of the same.
The official further revealed, “Occurrence reports can be used as evidence in cases of crimes as well as for insurance claims. If the victims are lucky, the police may have the documents, but if not, by the time the settlement is reached at in the court, which often takes years, the documents may not be available, signatures may be blurred or the papers may crumble due to improper storage.” Rajan Chauhan, a fire consultant in the city said, “The fault is not alone of the department but of the AMC and by large the government because this situation is the same in many government offices as well.”
Even as the Union government hails its policy of Digital India and its many successes, this revolutionary transformation has not reached the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) and while it has not benefited the fire department, it has certainly turned it into a veritable fire hazard of its own. If it cannot be stacked up, the paperwork is squeezed inside the cupboards whose doors are coming off at the hinges. “Some of these documents go back more than a decade because now nobody needs them,” said a fireman, gesturing in dismay at the rows of files stacked next to fresh stationery straight off the press – to be used and then eventually dumped back here, in the basement, at least for the foreseeable future.
Mihir Bhatt, Director of All India Fire Mitigation Institute said, “The fire records are very important for vulnerability analysis and gap reports. This is the data that has to be used to plan fire safety for the future and has to be preserved with utmost care.”
An employee dealing with clerical work confessed that sometimes it gets difficult to even reply to RTIs because of the mess. “Files are overflowing out of every corner in this building. The scariest part is that if someone files an RTI that goes back a couple of years, we may not be able to answer it in time because we would have to depute firemen to sort through all the files to get the required data.” Asked about the haphazard filing system and storage of records, Chief Fire Officer (CFO) MF Dastoor said, “We sent apetition for digitisation a couple of years ago but nothing much came of it. In the meantime, as we ran out of cupboards, files started piling up in the offices.”
Mirror found at least seven places where innumerable documents are stacked in heaps; nobody knows which document lies where, except the most recent ones. Even the Chief Fire Officer’s (CFOs) office has three cupboards filled with files and then some more that are shoved into corners and more stacked on top of the cupboards.
Where is Digital India?
Another fireman said these files will continue to pile up until the digitisation process reaches the fire department, which they hope happens soon enough.
Yatindra Naik, manager of egovernance for the AMC said, “Digitisation can only happen at the pace that particular department of the AMC wants to get it done.” However, officials at the AFES say the sheer number of vacancies in clerical staff is to blame for documents not being readily available. The posts of Office Superintendent, 3 of 6 junior clerks, and two senior clerks are still vacant at the AFES, said officials.
Acity at risk
Mirror had on February 14, 2018 reported that 762 of 2,705 highrises are without fire NOCs. The AFES was to install a new early warning system software that would alert it when the fire NOC of a building is about to lapse so that the residents can be notified in advance to get it renewed. However, with the data entry process pending, that seems to be unlikely as firemen would have to manually sift the files to inform the high-rises.
Chief Fire Officer (CFO) MF Dastoor had confirmed to Mirror that the system would be ready by March 1 and then notices would be sent out to residential high rises without fire NOCs. However, even as May begins, the system is not ready. Naik, when asked about this system, said, “The system is mostly ready and only just data entry and minute changes to be made to the system are pending.” Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar told Mirror, “The software has been developed and the data entry is largely completed. We are getting ready with demo and usage.”
Delay in digitising documents at Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services headquarters in Danapith has turned into a big hassle for Amdavadis.
Occurrence reports used for insurance claims and submitted as evidence in crime cases are infested with termites. Fire safety records are buried in layers of dust. Documents older than two years are unavailable, and those that are available are crumbling due to improper storage apart from being a fire hazard. As settlement of insurance cases take years, these papers may not be available when required, fear citizens.
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Heaped up in different rooms, some of these touch the ceiling and are as old as 20 years. The understaffed fire department, which douses fires across the city, keeps adding to the piles.
An official, on condition of anonymity, revealed, “The three most important databases – the log book which records vehicle movement, the occurrence book which details the fire incidents in the city and the duty book which details the attendance of staff – all are still in physical format and if they are needed at the headquarters, they have to be ordered here as there is no digital entry of the same.
The official further revealed, “Occurrence reports can be used as evidence in cases of crimes as well as for insurance claims. If the victims are lucky, the police may have the documents, but if not, by the time the settlement is reached at in the court, which often takes years, the documents may not be available, signatures may be blurred or the papers may crumble due to improper storage.” Rajan Chauhan, a fire consultant in the city said, “The fault is not alone of the department but of the AMC and by large the government because this situation is the same in many government offices as well.”
Even as the Union government hails its policy of Digital India and its many successes, this revolutionary transformation has not reached the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) and while it has not benefited the fire department, it has certainly turned it into a veritable fire hazard of its own. If it cannot be stacked up, the paperwork is squeezed inside the cupboards whose doors are coming off at the hinges. “Some of these documents go back more than a decade because now nobody needs them,” said a fireman, gesturing in dismay at the rows of files stacked next to fresh stationery straight off the press – to be used and then eventually dumped back here, in the basement, at least for the foreseeable future.
Mihir Bhatt, Director of All India Fire Mitigation Institute said, “The fire records are very important for vulnerability analysis and gap reports. This is the data that has to be used to plan fire safety for the future and has to be preserved with utmost care.”
An employee dealing with clerical work confessed that sometimes it gets difficult to even reply to RTIs because of the mess. “Files are overflowing out of every corner in this building. The scariest part is that if someone files an RTI that goes back a couple of years, we may not be able to answer it in time because we would have to depute firemen to sort through all the files to get the required data.” Asked about the haphazard filing system and storage of records, Chief Fire Officer (CFO) MF Dastoor said, “We sent apetition for digitisation a couple of years ago but nothing much came of it. In the meantime, as we ran out of cupboards, files started piling up in the offices.”
Mirror found at least seven places where innumerable documents are stacked in heaps; nobody knows which document lies where, except the most recent ones. Even the Chief Fire Officer’s (CFOs) office has three cupboards filled with files and then some more that are shoved into corners and more stacked on top of the cupboards.
Where is Digital India?
Another fireman said these files will continue to pile up until the digitisation process reaches the fire department, which they hope happens soon enough.
Yatindra Naik, manager of egovernance for the AMC said, “Digitisation can only happen at the pace that particular department of the AMC wants to get it done.” However, officials at the AFES say the sheer number of vacancies in clerical staff is to blame for documents not being readily available. The posts of Office Superintendent, 3 of 6 junior clerks, and two senior clerks are still vacant at the AFES, said officials.
Acity at risk
Mirror had on February 14, 2018 reported that 762 of 2,705 highrises are without fire NOCs. The AFES was to install a new early warning system software that would alert it when the fire NOC of a building is about to lapse so that the residents can be notified in advance to get it renewed. However, with the data entry process pending, that seems to be unlikely as firemen would have to manually sift the files to inform the high-rises.
Chief Fire Officer (CFO) MF Dastoor had confirmed to Mirror that the system would be ready by March 1 and then notices would be sent out to residential high rises without fire NOCs. However, even as May begins, the system is not ready. Naik, when asked about this system, said, “The system is mostly ready and only just data entry and minute changes to be made to the system are pending.” Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar told Mirror, “The software has been developed and the data entry is largely completed. We are getting ready with demo and usage.”
Some of these files are as old as 20 years ; PICS: NILKANTH DAVE
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