Despite the recent fire at the Department of Transport Management in Minbhawan during the Gen-Z movement, officials have confirmed that the smart licence data remains secure. They reported that backup records are recoverable, allowing services to continue.
The department’s office, located to the east of the Parliament building, was set ablaze during the height of the Gen-Z protests on 8 and 9 September.
The fire destroyed embossed number records, the smart licence printing machine, and approximately 600,000 of the 1.2 million printed licences. However, the remaining 600,000, which had already been printed and were ready for distribution, were left undamaged.
During a clean-up operation on Friday morning at the department’s premises, staff informed the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Kulman Ghising, that the smart licence data could be retrieved.
In response, Minister Ghising confirmed that measures would be taken in cooperation with the National Identity and Civil Registration Department to ensure essential licences are printed.
“There is a possibility of printing licenses from the machine used for national ID cards,” Minister Ghising said. “If travelers going abroad urgently need licenses, coordination will be made to print them from the National Identity and Registration Department’s machine.”
According to the Department of Transport Management, 2.5 million smart licences still need to be issued, and preparations are underway to launch an immediate tender for the procurement of new printing materials.