Babudom and plight of the common man - Lokpal or no Lokpal

The  experience with the municipal corporation of a City in Kerala is placed here  for  information . At the outset I wish to emphasise that this is not a complaint against anyone in particular, but to sensitize the reader  to the happenings in any  office  he may have to approach

I along with my son and daughter in law had called at the  coporation office on 24.07.2010 and  had submitted the application for the issue of a marriage certificate. Rs.120.00 was remitted as the fee. The receipt was issued by the official. At the time of submission of the application we had enquired when we should call at the office to obtain the certificate.The staff at the office advised us that the application was in order. We were told that we need not call at the office and the certificate would be sent to the address in the application through post. Though the marriage was conducted way back on 30.12.2004,we had applied for the certificate as we had read in the newspapers that official marriage certificate will be an absolute necessity in future.

Till june 2011 we awaited the certificate from the corporation. We did not make an enquiry because we were specifically told that there was no need to make enquiries.

Sometime in June 2011 I called at the office. After  enquiries at different seats I reached a cubicle where there was a queue. Someone had directed me there. When my turn came up I  handed in the receipt. I was told that the certificate was issued by a lady staff at the corner where there was a big crowd, each one pointing the receipt at the person to catch her attention like we find in crowded markets.

Though I pitied the plight of the poor lady I had to do as the others were doing because that was the only way to find a way out of my predicament. Finally she took the receipt from me , verified a number of registers and told me that the certificate had not yet reached her. She asked me to go in and contact the official.

I went in. Met the official. He asked me why I did not make an enquiry earlier. I replied that I had been told that there was no need for it. After verifying the computer and registers he told me that the certificate was not issued because there was an objection. He said the objection note had been sent by post to the address in the application. I replied that we have not yet received the objection note and if we had received it we would never have hesitated to enquire about it. When I asked what the objection was I was told that the application had not been signed by the applicants. I showed the copy I had with me where the applicants had signed at the space provided for it. However I was told that the applicants have to sign on the face or the front page where there was no indication or mark that required the signature of the applicants. I was told that the certificate would be issued only after  obtention of the signature on the front page. Knowing fully well the intricacies of the babudom I said I would bring the applicants and satisfy the requirement. It took a few weeks because the applicants had to be available to sign the application. Once the application was signed I was told that the certificate will be issued in ten days' time and I could come and collect it from the official himself.Since i was a bit busy I could go there only on  26.08.2011.  When I met the official he checked with the computer and advised that the certificate had been issued on 10.08.2011 and that  it was with the issuing staff at the corner. As it had been the earlier time the poor lady was going through a harrowing phase. She checked the registers and told me that it had been sent to our address on 11.08.2011 itself. To my reply that we were yet to receive the certificate I was told that the certificates were sent by post when  the application was accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope and it had not yet been returned unaccepted. I replied that we had not submitted any such envelope.  She checked the files. She confirmed that it was in her custodt. She handed over the certificate and asked me to sign an acknowledgement in a register.

I know this is a bit lengthy. But I wanted every one  to know what is happening in  the offices that had been set up to serve us.   Certain simple steps may obviate the difficulties of the public.

1. If the signature is needed on the face which I feel is unncessary, make that transparent by indicating it or keeping a slot there.

2. Please ask for the contact phone number through which the applicant can be intimated and the response and disposal time will be quick

3. If an objection is intimated please ensure that it is really intimated.A registered letter will serve the purpose better than an ordinary letter.

4. Let there be a scrutiny when the applications are accepted. The scrutiny shall never be casual or perfunctory.

PALLIATIVE CARE AT ITS WORST

Ms Rebecca George is seventy five. She is a spinster. Her father had passed away when the children were young. Her mother had to look after the four children without much of an income. The eldest was a son and other three were girls. Though her husband had held a job with a Government organization and the wife was eligible for a job under the compassionate appointment scheme of the Government, her husband’s brother tricked her into signing a no objection certificate whereby the job on offer was grabbed by the deceitful brother in law. True to his nature the gentleman never bothered to look after his brother’s wife and the four hapless children. The struggle to make a living and raise her children fell upon the young widow. The family pulled on by little acts of kindness extended by a few.



As High School education was almost free all the children despite abject poverty managed to pass the High School Leaving Certificate examination. Like all Malayalees were doing at that time each of them boarded the train to Bombay armed with the precious certificate. At Bombay all of them had a horrid time before landing a job that paid them very little to survive. As time progressed except for Rebecca all the others married and began to raise their families. Rebecca chose to remain single and take care of her mother. Time flew. Rebecca was fifty two. She was sending her mother whatever little she could save and the two were able to pull on with the little salary Rebecca was getting though they were staying hundreds of Kilometers apart.



One day Rebecca woke up with the message that her mother was sick and needed someone with her. While she passed on the information to her siblings, her brother expressed his inability to look after the mother. He stated that he had to look after his family and was not prepared to meet even a part of the cost of medical treatment of his own mother. The two sisters were prepared to meet the cost in part but were unable to leave their families. Rebecca took voluntary retirement and came down to Kerala to stay with her mother and look after her. Rebecca did a good job with the limited resources she had. Finally Rebecca was left alone when her mother passed away.



Rebecca has now ended up in a home for the aged. She pays for the boarding and lodging. The staff at the home looks after her. She is examined by a Doctor once a week. The stay at the home is alright. Food is alright. But Rebecca is unhappy. What she really needs is someone to cater to her emotional needs. She needs someone to talk to occasionally. She needs a patient listener. She needs someone to take her to a hospital when she is ill. The authorities of the home are not in a position to depute an attendant solely for Rebecca. In the present day Kerala the cost of services are very high. Though the home is in a town in Kerala where the relatives of Rebecca are staying none of them bother to visit her.



Rebecca is now loaded with a problem. There are holidays in Kerala when all the employees will go home. There will not be anyone to take care of the inmates. As the holiday season has approached the authorities of the home have requested the inmates to stay with their relatives for a week or make some other arrangements for their stay as entrusting them to temporary hands is not a good idea. Rebecca contacted her relatives in the town and requested them to allow her to stay with them for a week. The reply was heartbreaking. None of them wanted her. What happens to Rebecca concerns no one.

EXPRESSION OF LOVE

Mr.Mathew Abraham of Cholakathu, Kunthirical P O, Thalavady  , Alapuzha District, Kerala,  India

had a neighbour, Mr. Raveendran. Ramesh, his son, was afflicted with Polio and was crippled while he was a child. Ramesh crawled around and Mr. Raveendran could not do much for the child. Mr. Mathew Abraham took it upon himself to ensure that Ramesh had a good life. He took him to CMC Vellore where he was operated upon by specialists. Ramesh started walking with the help of crutches. He was taught stitching by the rehabilitation centre there. Mr. Mathew Abraham gifted Ramesh with a stitching machine. Ramesh became a tailor and started earning. He has married. He has children. He drives around in a car today.

What one individual did for a fellow human being was splendid. How many are prepared to sacrifice their own interests for  any one else ? Mr. Mathew Abraham did have a family. He had two children, a girl and a boy.  He was already supporting two of his sisters who were badly off. He was never rich. He was only a Clerk in Life Isurance Corporation of  India. Those days the Pay and the Perks were very low. What drove him? He wanted to  put  a smile on the face of a large number of his unfortunate and disadvantaged brethren.  It was single minded devotion. The constistency with which he was locating  the persons  who required assistance was astounding. He never bothered to saddle any one else with the paucity of finance that stared at him all the time. Yet he went on serving the needy.

We do not have to be rich to put a smile on the face of the unfortunate.

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