Wahid Rafeeqi

Bandipora, Dec 09 (KNS): In a bid on life the Tehsildar Bandipora has retrieved all important revenue records braving the huge fire after the building went up in flames on Saturday evening, damaging it massively.

According to the several officials and witnesses who talked to KNS were all praised the efforts of Mubashir Nazki, Tehsildar Bandipora for showing the courage at a time when no one dared to go near the building.

Pertinently the Tehsil office which has 7 Kanals of registered land has a CRPF forces camp in its premises, not only that an upper floor of the office building too, wherefrom the fire is first believed to have emerged was being used by the paramilitary forces from many years now.

“The building was being used as residential-cum-storage space by the forces”, the officials told KNS.

This reporter went inside the gutted building and saw several materials ranging from Bedding, Jackboots, Jackets of paramilitary on the top floor completely gutted some of which has made a way through the cardboard ceiling down to the offices' floor. Moreover stoves, Kerosene lamps and other material gutted in the fire have been kept in the compound nearby.

The Tehsil office which falls in the ground floor has also been ravaged by the fire incident though partially.
In the office premises, a Government residential quarter is being built which is almost 50 per cent complete while a new office building on the premises too has neared completion and requires minor works.

“The upper floor was caught in huge flames, but we were not being allowed to go near due to safety reasons”, the employees who were still at the office when the fire broke out told KNS.

“Meanwhile Tehsildar came and ran straight inside the building and removed the lockers which carried important revenue records, seeing all this we couldn't control ourselves and rushed in despite suffocating smoke while as flames started to engulf the ground floor too, and helped the officer to get the record out from the building", an employee narrated.

Nazki was the last person to come out of the building as fire-ravaged. He was forcefully removed from the police and emergency services personal, but he kept insisting on extracting all the records.

Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Owais Ahmad who visited the spot on Monday also appreciated the bravery of the officer and said that they were proud of Tehsildar Bandipora and his associated team who showed enormous courage and ownership which we hardly see anywhere now, and saved all the records which included important revenue records too.

He said the record is in the safe custody of Tehsildar. “It’s been our good luck that 90 per cent of our record is safe and the other record will be reconstructed too”, Deputy Commissioner Bandipora said.

He said the new complex which is almost complete will be made operational within a few days and revenue officials will function from there.

“We are also identifying the land for paramilitary personals and other security forces and it’s been speeded up as the office is of public dealings and

when the CRPF has alternative space the functioning here will be improved, moreover if it seems more congested we will be identifying alternate space for hassle-free work of the revenue office”, DC said.

Meanwhile a four-member inquiry team had also been constituted on Monday to ascertain the cause of fire. (KNS)