The party's intellectual property was destroyed in the fire at the Congress library, where around 15,000 books and digital materials were destroyed.
What you should know
The central office of the Congress, Sanepa, has been heavily damaged due to vandalism and arson by protesters during the Gen-G movement. Important offices, equipment and documents on different floors of the office building have been destroyed and important items including furniture have been looted.
In particular, the leaders said that the damage to the library, which was built only a year ago, has deeply hurt the intellectual property of the party. Congress leader Purna Bahadur Khadka said that he was shocked when the library built with great effort was completely destroyed. On the special initiative of Congress General Minister Gagan Thapa and Vishwaprakash Sharma, Congress had built a library with well-equipped rooms. All the books in the
library have been burned to ashes. According to Meen Vishwakarma, the head of the propaganda department of the Congress, about 15,000 books supported by the country and abroad were kept in this library, which was built at a cost of 65 lakh rupees. These books included historical documents of Nepali politics, history, philosophy and Congress.
'Due to the fire there is not a single book left in the library . This library was our intellectual property. It was built with the help of donors from home and abroad and the hard work of the party," Vishwakarma said, "We honored the donors who supported the library only a few days ago, but today everything has turned to ashes." He says that this has caused irreparable damage to the intellectual property of the party.
Even the digital assembly hall was destroyed
Even the state-of-the-art digital assembly hall on the first floor has been completely destroyed . The sound system, projector and other digital devices in the assembly hall were burnt to ashes. Vishwakarma said that the workroom of the disciplinary committee on this floor was also vandalized, where only about 30 percent of the documents were left. Likewise, the treasurer's office has been completely destroyed. The offices of Joint Chief Ministers Bhishma Angdambe, Dina Upadhyay and leader Shekhar Koirala have been burnt to ashes. The office of the Policy Research and Training Institute on the west side has been vandalized but has been spared from fire . Drawers, books, files, tables and carpets in the room of Chief Secretary Krishna Paudel have all been burnt to ashes. Goods were stolen along with vandalism in the room of former official and General Minister Gagan Thapa on this line. The working room of the audit committee, the active membership computer room and the IT room were also destroyed.
Looting and arson on the second and third floors
General Minister Bishwaprakash Sharma's office on the west side of the second floor of the office has been gutted by fire, while Deputy Chairman Purna Bahadur Khadka's office and the Audit Committee's office have been vandalized . The computer, printer, computer hard disk in the rooms have been stolen . The protestors have not left the coffee maker, even the jug, they have looted everything .
Expensive chairs, air conditioner (AC) and sound system in the third floor meeting room have been stolen . Congress spokesperson Prakasharan Mahat's computer hard disk has been removed from his room. The election committee's room has been completely destroyed, where the sofas and ceiling plasters have also been destroyed . All the belongings of the Propaganda Department's office on the fourth floor have been stolen . Computers, printers, water dispensers and glasses have also been stolen from there.
The map of Nepal has been hit with a stick
According to Vishwakarma, head of the Congress Publicity Department, the protestors have hit the map of Nepal with a stick so that eight/nine boot prints are visible. "We are very sad to see the map of Nepal being put on the ground and hit with a boot." This is also a national insult, who has done such an act should be identified," said Vishwakarma. He said that this incident has been exposed in public .
active membership data secured
In the midst of arson and looting, the active membership data of the Congress has been kept safe as it has been backed up elsewhere . Congress has about 9 lakh active members. The work of renewal and distribution of active membership for the 15th Congress of the party was also starting . If its data was not secure, there would have been a problem in completing the convention . Although the computer containing the data system of the active membership was stolen, the office staff said that its records were kept 'backed up' on a separate hard disk. "Our important data is safe, which gives us some relief," said a secretary in the office.
According to Vishwakarma, the head of the publicity department, the physical damage to the building is about 60-70 percent. Retrofitting was carried out in the building which suffered some damage during the earthquake. "Preliminary studies have shown that the pillars and beams were not consumed by the fire, but a team of engineers is studying for a complete assessment," Vishwakarma said. "Attacks and arson on political party parties, vandalism and arson on leaders' houses confirm that this is not a spontaneous incident but a premeditated attack," Khadka told Kantipur, "There has also been looting and arson in the Ashram of Sant leader Krishna Prasad Bhattarai at Badegaon. All Congress leaders' houses have been vandalized and set on fire, except for a few. It is clear that all these events are of the same nature and planned.'
