Struggles in obtaining birth and death certificates as officials face challenges

Ferdous Hossain needed a birth certificate to admit his son to school, so he went to the office of Ward no. 18 of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Tuesday afternoon to obtain the certificate.

The office is located in Kalachandpur, Nadda. However, he had to return without the certificate after not finding the officer in charge. This was the third time he had visited the ward office, but he still could not get his son’s birth certificate.

Ferdous Hossain informed Prothom Alo that he was told to come back another day because the secretary was unavailable.

However, no one in the office could tell him when he should return. In this situation, he is worried about how to get his son admitted to school by 15 December.

Salah Uddin, the secretary of Ward no. 18, explained to Prothom Alo over the phone that his primary duty is in the office of Ward no. 19. He only sits in Ward no. 18 for half an hour, two days a week.

When someone needs urgent assistance, they are advised to go to the office of Ward no. 19. Due to this arrangement, timely service is often not provided to people seeking help.

When this correspondent visited the six ward offices of DNCC and DSCC’s main office at Nagar Bhaban (which handles activities for Zones 1 and 4) on Tuesday, it was evident that many people had come to apply for certificates.

However, frustration was evident from their responses. After speaking with some of them, it was revealed that obtaining any service often takes a few days, and in some cases, even a few weeks.

Upon further investigation, it was found that many secretaries are assigned responsibilities for more than one ward, making them difficult to be available. Additionally, the frequent changes of addresses have made it harder for people to find the right office. Official work is also being delayed due to a lack of necessary equipment, following the vandalism and looting that occurred during the student-people uprising. Furthermore, the officials and employees are struggling to keep up with the high demand for services.

The crisis began after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August during the student-public uprising. On 26 September, councilors from DNCC, DSCC, and other city corporations across the country were removed.

On 1 October, regional executive officers were tasked with overseeing the services that had previously been handled by the councilors’ offices. With 129 wards and 20 zones across the two Dhaka city corporations, the change in leadership has caused significant delays in certificate-related services.

DNCC Chief Executive Officer, Mir Khairul Alam, told Prothom Alo Tuesday that the local people are familiar with the people’s representatives or ward councilors, but the officials do not have that connection.

Verification is often required when issuing certificates, and the delay is primarily due to efforts to avoid mistakes and ensure that the correct information is verified.

In DNCC, several ward secretaries have been assigned additional responsibilities, but there has been no clear indication as to when or where they will carry out their duties.

Notices regarding this change have not been pasted at the ward offices, leading to confusion. As a result, many people were seen leaving without meeting the secretaries they had come to see Tuesday.

In DSCC, it was learned from concerned officials that 10 zonal executive officers have been carrying out the duties that used to be handled by 75 councilors. This shift has resulted in significant delays in service delivery, causing citizens to suffer in availing necessary services.

Solaiman Kabir, who applied for a succession certificate in a Mirpur ward, shared his experience. He said that his relatives had been going from one office to another for three weeks to get the certificate. He was called to the office several times and asked to provide documents, which he did. However, the office is now telling him that if the documents are sent to the regional executive officer, he will need to visit the office there as well.

Several ward secretaries mentioned that certificates could have been issued immediately if the councilors were still in charge. However, with all documents now being sent to the regional office, it now takes at least three days to obtain any certificate. In some cases, it takes even longer.

In most wards of DNCC, councilors used to conduct their activities either from their own homes or at rented places. However, with the absence of councilors, the addresses of several such offices have been changed, and the City Corporation does not have updated records on these changes.

For example, the office of DNCC’s Ward No. 16, which was previously located in the Ibrahimpur area of Mirpur, could not be found at that address.

After speaking with the ward secretary, the new office was located. Upon visiting the new office, it was observed that the ward secretary and City Corporation employees were working by setting up chairs and tables next to piles of files. Service seekers were gathered around, submitting their documents.

Sharing his experience, Masud Hossain, who had come to collect his citizenship certificate, said that when he went to the previous address, he saw a signboard for the councilor’s office, but there was no office inside. He was directed to the new office after inquiring with locals.

Necessary equipment, including computers and printers, were not allocated to many offices after they were vandalised and looted. In this situation, some of the ward secretaries have been providing services with their personal computers and rented ones and some are working on their mobiles phones. This is also a reason for the delays, the officials said.

Asked, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Mizanur Rahman told Prothom Alo Tuesday that earlier the councillors were available almost round-the-clock. Now the citizens must take the services within a certain time.

He, however, claimed that they have ordered the relevant persons to provide the services immediately in cases of any emergency.

An office of a ward councilor provides 14 types of services or certificates, including birth and death certificates.

Besides, supervision of the mosquito eradication programmes and cleaners’tasks and distribution of TCB goods are also done from the  offices of a ward councilors.

* The report, originally published in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat