Staff Reporter:
After nearly two decades, renovation work has finally begun at the office of the Chief Controller of Stores (CCS) under the eastern zone of Bangladesh Railway. However, during the ongoing renovation, a fire broke out late Friday night at the office located in Pahartali of the port city.
Although the fire did not cause major damage, some old documents were burned in the incident. Following the incident, a three-member investigation committee has been formed, headed by District Controller of Stores (Purchase-1) Md. Arifuzzaman Shikdar.Chief Controller of Stores of the eastern zone, Belal Hossain Sarkar, said that no important documents were kept in the area where the fire occurred. “Necessary documents had already been removed from the place earlier due to the renovation work,” he added. The investigation committee will determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage.
Sources concerned said the fire might have originated either from sparks generated during welding work on the tin roof of the building or from an electrical short circuit. Some old documents and scrap materials stored behind the former IB section were burned in the fire.Before the renovation work began, most office equipment and important documents had been temporarily shifted to the shipping office about a month earlier. As a result, major losses were avoided.
Railway sources said the CCS office is one of the key centers responsible for the procurement and supply of railway materials. Several purchase divisions ranging from C-1 to C-7, along with the shipping section, inspection department and warehouse operations, function under this office.
Most of the materials required for the country’s railway system are procured, received, stored and distributed to various departments from this office.Due to the lack of infrastructure renovation for a long time, the condition of the building had deteriorated, raising concerns about the preservation of important documents. Renovation work at the office started in December last year. Officials believe that once the renovation is completed, the working environment will improve and the safety of document and material storage will also be enhanced.
