Agents continue to fleece people--Birth and death certificates

Manav Mander

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 6

Nothing seems to stop agents from fleecing gullible visitors to the Civil Surgeon’s office. Despite the fact that forms for getting birth and death certificates are provided free of cost, the agents are selling these at the office and if luck favors, they strike a deal with visitors to get the work done in lieu of some charges.

Although warning boards have been put up inside the office, these agents can be seen making a quick buck, trapping gullible visitors.

Earlier, these agents would roam freely inside the office. But after the authorities put up the warning boards and took some stringent steps, they shifted starting operating outside the premises.

The agents sitting outside the office complex charge Rs 10 for each form (for applying for birth and death certificates), which otherwise comes for free and can also be downloaded from www.pbhealth.gov.in.

It is due to the lack of awareness that visitors fall prey to these agents. People from rural areas are the target in 90 per cent of the cases.

An old man, sitting near the window where death and birth certificates are issued, when asked if he faced any difficulty while applying for the certificate, said: “I have engaged a man who met him outside the office and he did the entire job for him. I was asked to collect the certificate in the evening and now I am waiting”.

He said it was the best way to get some work done. He didn’t forget to advise this correspondent to engage an agent if she wanted to get some work done at the earliest.

When he came to know about the identity of the correspondent, he refused to divulge the amount he paid to the agent and his name. He said: “I am only concerned that my work has been done and I do not mind paying some extra bucks,” he said.

Another visitor, who was going back after collecting the death certificate of his mother, said he had been doing the rounds of the office for the past many days, without success. “Three days ago, when I again visited the office, I was stopped by a person at the entrance and he asked me if I wanted to apply for a certificate. When I said yes, he offered his help and we struck a deal at Rs 500. Now, within three days, I have got the certificate,” he said.

An agent, sitting outside the office, said: “I am not doing any crime. I am just helping out illiterate persons in filing the forms and charging Rs 10 from them”.

Officialspeak

The Assistant Civil Surgeon, Dr KS Saini, said they had warning agents many times and none of them was allowed to enter the office. “We have even gone strict with those sitting outside the premises. Despite the warning boards displayed inside the Civil Surgeon’s office, people engage these agents to get their works done,” he said.