BBMP statistical office in a shambles, records unprotected

The birth-and-death records section at the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Statistical office is in a shambles.

Birth and death records of Bangaloreans’ are seen lying around in the office located near the Upparpet Police station. The situation at this office has not improved since the time it started operations.

Without signboards to guide people, most applicants run from pillar to post to get their work done. The absence of basic facilities like – chairs, a waiting room, drinking water or hygienic toilets – irk applicants at the office.

With school admissions just round the corner, a serpentine queue greets the visitor. The queue begins in the ground floor and extends all the way up to the first floor where papers are verified before certificates are finally issued.

This office stores sensitive data pertaining to the birth and death of people in the district, but the mess here is a tell-tale that there is no measure to ensure their safety. The City may boast of being the IT Capital of India but this government department has not yet been computerised to be rid of the huge piles of papers littered everywhere. There are eight staffers who are heavily burdened as they have to handle over 500 applications everyday.

Some departmental officials approached corporate and IT giants like Infosys seeking help under their corporate social responsibility, to construct toilets and computerise data. But looking at the BBMP's financial condition, the officials turned away.

A staffer agreed that there was no safety for records here. He added that the delay in issuing certificates is because they have to search for a file based on the year, month and week. This is a tedious task. Talks to upgrade data online were held last year. But nothing materialised, he said. To upgrade services online requires around Rs 10 lakh. This is urgently required because it will put a stop to under-the-table collection and speedy work will begin. It was only last year that online issuance of birth and death certificates was started. But applications are not accepted online, he said.

Assistant Statistical Officer Prashanth S H, accepted that things were bad here. But clarified that they were gradually changing. He said that the office needs to be upgraded. “We had approached Infosys four months ago, but they said that it would happen after the BBMP gets a budget approval. We have also requested the government to increase staff capacity, but that is also delayed.”