THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
What’s in a name, as the old saying goes. But for several Goans, a tiny punctuation mark had become a major hurdle while obtaining birth and death certificates.
For nearly two months, citizens whose surnames contained an apostrophe—such as D’Souza, D’Costa and other similar names—were left struggling to obtain certificates after the newly introduced software for issuing birth and death records reportedly made no provision for the apostrophe mark.
The issue, which had caused considerable inconvenience to applicants, has now been resolved, with the apostrophe finally finding a place in the new software adopted by the Centre.
Sources in the know at the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) said the civic body had received clarification on Wednesday confirming that the software had been rectified to accommodate surnames containing the apostrophe. “Today itself, we have received the clarification that the apostrophe mark has found a mention in the new software,” an MMC official said.
The correction is expected to bring relief to citizens who had been unable to obtain certificates carrying their names correctly because of the software limitation. During the past two months, the MMC had reportedly continued issuing certificates through the old software in cases where applicants faced difficulties because of the apostrophe issue.
New software, fresh difficulties
While the apostrophe issue may have been resolved, the new software has brought with it another set of difficulties for citizens seeking birth and death records.
Gone are the days when applicants could approach the MMC in Margao and obtain birth or death records registered elsewhere in the State with relative ease. Under the new system, the MMC can issue only those birth and death documents that were registered with the civic body from 1972 onwards.
In the past, the MMC was able to issue birth and death records registered with civic bodies and panchayats across Goa. This facility had proved particularly convenient for people who lived in Margao or surrounding areas but whose records were registered in another municipality or village panchayat. “Earlier, people used to come to the Margao Municipal Council and apply for birth and death records registered across the State. But, with the implementation of the new software, citizens will have to personally visit the respective municipalities and panchayats to obtain these certificates,” the official said.
The change means that citizens seeking records registered outside the MMC jurisdiction will now have to travel to the concerned local body, potentially adding time and expense to what was earlier a relatively simple process.
Longer waiting time
The new system has also affected the time taken to issue certificates at the MMC.
According to officials, staff members handling the birth and death section are now required to verify and cross-check information available in the old software or in the original birth and death registration books before issuing documents. “This takes some time for the staff to comply with the formalities. Earlier, we used to issue a birth or death document at the click of the mouse. Now, it takes a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes to check and tally the records before issuing the documents,” the official said.
The additional verification process has resulted in longer waiting periods for applicants, with serpentine queues now being witnessed outside the MMC’s birth and death section.
Officials attributed the queues primarily to the additional checks necessitated by the new software, rather than any deliberate delay on the part of the staff.
