Mangalore: With Two Persons, One PC for 28 Villages, Govt Centre Frustrates Public
Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, May 28: A sorry state of affairs at a government centre has resulted in nearly 250 to 300 people, especially senior citizens and children, standing in long queues for nearly 5 to 6 hours every day especially over the past one week, many times in vain.
Nemmadi centre, an outlet of the panchayat that works on contract basis in Suratkal is a typical example of lackadaisical attitude of the government and the frustrated public.
People are fed up with the system followed by this centre. Located in Suratkal, it covers nearly 28 villages. It has been functioning here for almost 8 years and recently shifted to a new premises. All the government documentation works like issuance of RTC, income certificate, education related certifications, caste certificates and so on are done in this centre.
But the centre has only one lady staff, with one girl to help and only one computer. This speaks volumes about the carelessness of the department concerned and the contractor as well. Most of the time, people are sent back, the common reason being 'server down'. No power for a day means the centre is closed. Last week there was no power for three days and the centre was shut down on all three days. It is quite obvious that the work load is heavy after long leaves, but no alternate measures have been taken to cope with the situation.
The centre has generator facility to tackle power cuts, but it is never used. When people question, they are told that there's no kerosene to run the generator!
Queues at the centre are often long, and having no sufficient staff, it takes a long time to deal with each person. The people have to wait standing in the sweltering heat, without even drinking water facility for them. There are no seating arrangements either, not even for senior citizens.
Speaking to Daijiworld, local corporator Revathi said that she had been to the centre for an RTC related work. Realizing the problems of the people, she contacted the officials concerned and spoke to them. The tahsildar promised to put another system and more staff on Monday. "But it seems like he has failed to fulfil his promise," she said.
Of late, there are lots of students present in the line, especially those who have got their CET results and need some documents like income and caste certificates. One of the students told Daijiworld that the deadline to submit the documents was last Saturday, but due to the closure of this centre for three days, they were here on Monday May 28. They also expressed fears of their future being affected due to this delay.
A farmer explained that he was in queue from 8 am and the staff came in at 9.30 am. He wants to cultivate certain crops, and in order to get them, he has to submit the land RTC documents. This is the only centre where he can get his RTC. After two days, he will not even get the crops, he says, sadly adding that it was the third time he was coming to the centre to obtain RTC.
When contacted, the contractor said that the problem was due to the power cut on three days last week, because of which everyone rushed to the centre on Monday. On the contrary, people said that this sort of rush is at the centre since nearly one week.
Whatever may be the case, the pain of the people puts the officials on the wrong side. One can only hope that appropriate arrangements are made to facilitate them, or at least alleviate their problems. The need of the hour, in short, is a better equipped staff, along with more computers, seating arrangements, token system, and drinking water, to name a few.
Is anyone listening?