Fire at Canacona mamlatdar’s office, few mutation files gutted

Canacona: A fire at the Canacona mamlatdar’s office in the early hours of Tuesday destroyed some files pertaining to “settled and disposed off” mutation cases, said Canacona mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar.
A staff member who had reported early to work managed to save some of the files while the flames were still raging. The staff also alerted some locals, who rushed to the site but could not save much as most of it was reduced to ashes by then.
The Canacona mamlatdar said the fire must have been caused due to a short circuit. “A staffer on Sagar Kavach duty, noticed the smoke emanating from one of the offices on opening the door on the ground floor of the deputy collectorate complex,” he said.
The fire and emergency services were informed around 6am. But by the time they reached the site, a few of the files, old papers, a fan and two tables were gutted. “We have an inventory of the files,” the mamlatdar said.
Meanwhile, the public are suspicious of the incident questioning if it was accidental or intentional. A post on social media has called for installation of CCTV cameras in government offices.
In recent times, a post that an administrative officer in Canacona had deleted the name of a party from a Form I and XIV, was circulated on social media. The case is under investigation.