PANAJI: Minister for Archives and Archaeology Vijai Sardesai plans to set up state-of-the-art facility for archives in the State.
Speaking to media persons during his maiden visit to the Department of Archives and Archaeology, Sardesai informed, "Goa's heritage is in its archives as these are the oldest in Asia. The issue is to see if our archives are safe from fire and dampness. It is the responsibility of the government to preserve these. I would be of the opinion to take it to the south in my constituency but that would be a very drastic step. We need a new place and the facility has to come up within the next
two years."
Pointing out that international mafias try to destroy the archives, he said, "It has happened in many other places but we cannot let it happen in Goa. I have met the chief secretary to discuss whether the current place was safe to house the archives. He was of the opinion that it should be directly shifted to the new facility which will be created. This means we need to find land, build the new office and then shift the archives there directly."
Stating that an area of about 6000 square metres for housing the archives is optimal, he said, "As the minister, it will be my priority to ensure that the archives get a good place which will resemble a Goan archives centre but with a modern setup."
Nonetheless, he stated that these archives have to be kept safe in the interim period and said, "I have asked for a fire safety audit as many Goans come here to check documents. Secondly, digitization of documents is also a priority."
Speaking to media persons during his maiden visit to the Department of Archives and Archaeology, Sardesai informed, "Goa's heritage is in its archives as these are the oldest in Asia. The issue is to see if our archives are safe from fire and dampness. It is the responsibility of the government to preserve these. I would be of the opinion to take it to the south in my constituency but that would be a very drastic step. We need a new place and the facility has to come up within the next
two years."
Pointing out that international mafias try to destroy the archives, he said, "It has happened in many other places but we cannot let it happen in Goa. I have met the chief secretary to discuss whether the current place was safe to house the archives. He was of the opinion that it should be directly shifted to the new facility which will be created. This means we need to find land, build the new office and then shift the archives there directly."
Stating that an area of about 6000 square metres for housing the archives is optimal, he said, "As the minister, it will be my priority to ensure that the archives get a good place which will resemble a Goan archives centre but with a modern setup."
Nonetheless, he stated that these archives have to be kept safe in the interim period and said, "I have asked for a fire safety audit as many Goans come here to check documents. Secondly, digitization of documents is also a priority."
