News
Race against time to salvage damaged archival records
View(s):By Sajeniya Sathanandan
More than 210,000 archival records have been officially reported as damaged due to the devastating floods and landslides as officials undertake efforts to salvage some of the documents.
The Kandy Courts premises has been one of the worst affected, with several of its record rooms going underwater, while libraries, educational institutions, police stations, government departments, and private institutions have also lost documents.
National Archives Director General Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe told the Sunday Times that the 210,000 records that were damaged included documents from 40 public institutions and several private ones.
The National Archives is engaged in the recovery effort by providing guidelines on its WhatsApp channel ‘Ditwah Records Recovery’ and also facilitating communication between public authorities and private entities offering help to freeze the records.
Details regarding private sector offers are on WhatsApp, allowing public authorities to contact donors directly.
Several private firms have offered refrigerated containers, including Aitken Spence, which sent three 40-foot-long reefer containers to Kandy on December 7 within two days of a request, and Hayleys Advantis Limited has proposed considering assistance on a corporate social responsibility basis. Another private party has offered to sponsor the costs of refrigeration.
Dr Rupesinghe said the initial guidelines issued were valid only for 48 to 72 hours after the flooding receded. This timeframe was crucial because rapid biological changes and deterioration can occur in paper. For handling large quantities of records, immediate freezing is recommended to prevent rapid deterioration.
Kandy Courts Complex being cleared after the floods Pix by R V N Jayawardana
“Fourteen days have passed since the disaster; the immediate action protocols are no longer sufficient,’’ Dr Rupesinghe said, adding that if no action was taken, their condition would further deteriorate.
According to the National Archives, the current protocol explains the critical need to consult a specialist conservator.
She said untrained public officials should avoid attempting preservation work themselves.
“Intervention by non-specialists could compromise the security, reliability, integrity, and usability of the files. Authorities must now obtain a case-by-case analysis performed by a conservator to assess the level of deterioration before taking necessary action,’’ she said.
The National Archives has published a list of retired conservators who are former employees. Authorities are also encouraged to contact the archives for guidance.
Dr Rupesinghe said steps were being taken to set up a central records recovery centre with international assistance.
The Kandy Court complex on William Gopallawa Mawatha, less than a kilometre from the Mahaweli River, is still under restoration.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya parliamentarian Dr Harsha de Silva said that with the support of Aitken Spence, he arranged for three refrigerated containers to be sent to Kandy to save centuries‑old records belonging to the Kandy courts and government offices.
At least four of the Kandy Court record rooms are in the basement of the complex, while the canal next to the premises connects to the Mahaweli River.
Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) president Rajeev Amarasuriya said he identified three aspects to the problems created by the disaster—the destruction of court records; the damage to lawyers’ files, infrastructure, and the dislocation faced by them; and the loss of personal documents by litigants, some of whom are also missing, deceased, or cannot be contacted.
Mr Amarasuriya told the Sunday Times that when he visited the Kandy Court complex, he witnessed judges from the District Court and Magistrate’s Court personally involved in the cleanup.
The Bar Association has raised funds from lawyers and distributed several million rupees to those affected, including young lawyers whose offices had been destroyed.
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