Long before the official opening time on Tuesday, a massive crowd had already gathered outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters. Hundreds of anxious citizens from across the city and its adjoining areas formed serpentine queues, all with a common goal: to apply for birth and death certificates ahead of an impending SIR hearing.
Chaos and Crowd Management at KMC
The scene at the KMC's birth and death certificate wing was one of controlled chaos. Civic staff stationed at the inquiry kiosks found it difficult to hear the applicants, who had made a beeline for the counters. The situation grew so intense that police personnel were summoned to the location to prevent any untoward incidents. KMC officials were instructed to listen patiently to all applicants and accept applications that adhered to the standard registration rules.
A KMC health department official revealed that they encountered numerous applicants from outside Kolkata's city limits, driven by the ongoing SIR-related panic to apply for birth certificates. These out-of-town applicants had to be politely turned away, as the civic body could only process requests from within its jurisdiction.
Officials Ramp Up Capacity to Meet Demand
The scale of the rush was evident in the numbers. A senior KMC health department official stated that while about 360 applications were received via a chatbot service, which includes requests for passport verification, only around 50 manual applications were accepted from the long queue that persisted since late morning.
In response to the crisis, Mayor Firhad Hakim issued a directive on Friday. He asked KMC's Chief Municipal Health Officer (CMHO), Ranita Sengupta, to ensure that the civic body starts receiving and processing at least 500 birth and death certificate applications daily from the following week. This was a significant jump from the existing daily average of 150 applications received through the chatbot.
Taking immediate action, the KMC birth certificate wing increased its daily quota to 240 applications on Monday and decided to resume accepting manual applications after witnessing the overwhelming queues. To further alleviate the pressure, a plan was put into motion to install eight additional manual counters at the civic headquarters starting Wednesday.
New Counters to Streamline the Process
A KMC official confirmed the new arrangement, stating, "We have decided to set up eight makeshift counters to take the workload off the birth certificate wing from Wednesday onwards." These additional counters will be specifically for applicants residing in areas under boroughs I to VIII. Meanwhile, applications from boroughs IX to XVI will continue to be handled at the existing counters. The civic body assured that the new counters would be manned by trained employees from the respective boroughs, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce wait times.
Officials are hopeful that these measures will significantly improve the situation and provide much-needed relief to the citizens of Kolkata who are rushing to secure their vital documents.
