Farmers’ protest affects work at Saanjh Kendras

Tribune News Service

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, March 12

Residents of the city have been enduring a lot of inconvenience as essential public services provided at Saanjh Kendras, managed by the police department, have been disrupted for the last over 25 days. The cause behind this disruption is the deployment of police personnel from these centres for the ongoing farmers’ protest at Shambhu border.

A random check by Jalandhar Tribune revealed that Saanjh Kendras across the city were either closed or understaffed, leaving citizens unable to access necessary services. “I came here for my police clearance certificate (PCC), but everything is closed, and the authorities seem unconcerned about public services,” lamented Renuka, a newlywed who applied for the PCC a month ago.

She explained that she needed the certificate for her Canada visa application, as her husband is a permanent resident there, and they were married just last month. “I’ve visited this Saanjh Kendra in police division number 5 three times in the past 20 days. Sometimes I find it deserted, and when I do find someone, they just say that the staff is on duty for the farmers’ protest,” she added.

Similarly, a school teacher seeking police verification at the division number 4 Saanjh Kendra expressed dismay over the lack of staff, deeming the situation ridiculous. “It’s absurd that the operations at these centres are moving at a snail’s pace due to staff shortage. I’ve been informed that most of the staff has been assigned for the ongoing farmers’ protest. There’s uncertainty as to when things will get normal here,” she said.

About 30 services are provided at these centres, with a total of 14 such centres across the city, each staffed by three to four individuals. As per sources, operations at these centres have been disrupted since February 18, and essential tasks such as police verification for tenants, domestic workers and school staff have been significantly impacted.

Sources said that the remaining staff at the centres is overwhelmed with work, with one staff member responsible for covering police verification for three to four police stations, leading to a severe decline in overall functionality.

Surinder Kaur, in-charge, Saanjh Kendras in the city, acknowledged the staffing challenges, noting that approximately 30 personnel are currently deployed for the farmers’ protest. She said the orders were received from higher-ups in Chandigarh, so the staff had no option but to go and join their duties there. However, efforts are underway to expedite work and things will get back to normal soon.

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