Damaged documents to be restored

In the aftermath of the recent floods and landslips in the northern districts, the State Archives Department is helping government institutions and members of the public in the restoration of documents and valuable paperwork damaged in the calamity.

Conservation experts will be deployed from the department headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the regional archives in Kozhikode, and, if needed, from the regional archives in Ernakulam, J. Rejikumar, Director, Archives Department, said on Friday.

“The department has already carried out a survey to determine what needs to be done. The teams, which will leave in a day or two, will tour Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kozhikode,” he said.

A mobile conservation unit attached to the central archives in Thiruvananthapuram, where the department has its headquarters, also will be part of the restoration effort.

“Large numbers of documents, certificates, and official paperwork have been damaged after coming into contact with floodwaters. In a village office in Malappuram, for example, all the official documents have been damaged in the flooding,” he said.

A similar exercise was carried out by the department in the aftermath of the floods of August 2018. Conservation experts had toured the flood-hit districts to help the public and government offices, such as sub-registrar offices, restore valuable documents.