System demands bribe, or contacts, says Vikram Phadnis

Already devastated by my brother’s death, I set out for another ordeal — getting the death certificate. I had an idea that offices of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike would not exactly win awards for efficiency but some of them take things to the next level.

Off I went one morning with the crematorium receipt and hospital death certificate to the Shivajinagar office. The process of getting these certificates is easy now that it has all been computerised, or so I had heard. That, however, did not make any difference to me. The shocker came. “The internet is not working, sir. You can fill the form and check with us after a couple of days,” said an official. I sensed trouble. Some, like me, are fortunate. I knew some higher-ups in the BBMP and it took two senior officers to tell the staff that the death certificates may please be issued at the earliest. After a couple of visits, I got the certificates, thanks to the helpful senior officers.

While I got my work done, what happens to poor people who are in dire need of such documents and can’t pay? Or what happens to people who don’t have contacts? They will have to run from pillar to post to get their work done.

Getting work done under normal circumstances is one thing. But when a person has lost a close relative and is emotionally down, does an individual have to go through this? Who is at fault is not the question here. The system is such that there is no choice for the common public — pay or name contacts to get the work done.
However, I must mention that I have come across some honest and helpful officials in BBMP offices, but that the number of that breed is small. Time for such officials to become the majority.