Drying of archival material submerged during protests completed

Employees of the Central Registry Office of the Municipality of Centar have completed the drying, repackaging, and re-sorting of archival material that was moved from the burned-down Municipality of Centar building to another, temporary location at Marijin Dvor, the municipality announced, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

Jasna Beba, assistant mayor who heads the General Administration Service, which includes the Central Registry Office, said that during the February protests, the municipal archival material was not damaged by the fire thanks to built-in fire-resistant windows and doors. The problem arose after the firefighting, when water penetrated through the ceilings to the lower floors of the building where the archival material was stored.

Then, Mayor Dževad Bećirević formed a five-member commission that began relocating the material.

- We contacted experts from Croatia who explained to us that the only way to save archival material in such cases is to dry each sheet of paper individually. In cooperation with the municipal Service for Economy and Finance, we provided the necessary space, and after relocating the material, we immediately began drying and repackaging the extensive archival material. Those in charge of this job worked even on weekends to complete the job as soon as possible - said Beba, adding that the entire process was carried out in cooperation with experts from the Historical Archive of Sarajevo.