DERA GHAZI KHAN: A mysterious fire that erupted twice at vernacular and revenue record room of district Dera Ghazi Khan turned important 160 years old record into ashes.

The fire at vernacular or Urdu Mohafiz Khana and the adjacent revenue record room of the district burnt the record, including that of the tribal areas.

Dera Ghazi Khan was made a district in 1859 and when the old city was flood the Indus river, a new city was established by the British government in first decade of 20th century, 16km in the west of the old city.

The whole record was shifted from the old city to the new one in a new building of record room in 1910.

Sources told Dawn that record of agriculture reforms, record of settlement, mutation of DG Khan and Taunsa Sharif, revenue cases of tribal area tehsil, decisions of Jirgas, the civil cases and tribal customs and property of DG Khan and Taunsa Sharif was reduced to ashes.

It is pertinent to mention that fire mysteriously erupted on Feb 5 in broad daylight and was allegedly extinguished partially. It did not burn the whole record. The fire again erupted in the morning of Feb 6 and completely damaged the building and its roof caved.

The sources alleged that negligence was on the part of the district administration as after the first incident on Feb 5, arrangements were not made to secure the place or save the record, which resulted into eruption of another fire within 24 hours.

An employee, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn the record from 1872 till present had been burnt and it would benefit the ineligible undeserving people against eligible people who had now no evidences of their property or cases in the shape of government record. He further claimed that record of tribal area tehsil and tehsil Taunsa had been completely burnt and badly affected.

When contacted, Dera Ghazi Khan Deputy Commissioner Tahir Farooq told Dawn an inquiry had been launched into the incident and the additional deputy commissioner had been appointed an inquiry officer. He claimed that only judicial record had been badly affected while revenue record was safe.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2020