State’s Online Services in Crisis for Over a Month Due to Data Centre Failure; Allegations of Mismanagement in IT Directorate

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, June 28, 2025

A major fault in the state-run data centre servers has disrupted numerous essential online services in Tripura for over a month, including land registration, SOFED recruitment processes, and other digital platforms. Despite the magnitude of the disruption, no visible or effective steps have been taken by the Directorate of Information Technology (DIT), raising serious concerns about administrative apathy and mismanagement.

According to sources within the government, the situation has reached a critical level as more than a dozen crucial online services remain non-functional, hampering citizen services and government operations alike. Allegations have surfaced that the Director of IT has failed to prioritize core services and has neglected to take timely corrective measures.

"It appears the Director is either unaware of the technical priorities or is ignoring them completely," said a senior official on condition of anonymity. "Many capable engineers and officers who had a proven track record of executing important IT projects in the past have been deliberately sidelined."

Insiders also reveal that several key projects under the DIT, including the development and maintenance of the State Data Centre itself, have come to a halt. The working atmosphere within the department is reportedly deteriorating, leading to delays in implementation of new initiatives and the breakdown of existing services.

Adding to the crisis, many state government websites maintained by the Directorate of IT are not being updated regularly. In several cases, mandatory security audits have not yet been conducted, leaving sensitive digital infrastructure vulnerable.

Further, it has been revealed that although a private firm from outside Tripura had been entrusted with the responsibility of taking regular data backups, the agency allegedly failed to discharge its duties. As a result, there is reportedly no data backup available for the crashed services, severely complicating the restoration process.

Despite these alarming developments, the Director of IT has remained largely silent. There are strong allegations that he is attempting to downplay or hide the extent of the failures rather than taking decisive action to resolve the issue. With the digital backbone of state services crumbling, public dissatisfaction is mounting, and experts warn that unless urgent steps are taken, the credibility of the state’s digital governance may suffer long-term damage.

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