the goan I network
MARGAO
The hustle and bustle this office was known for at this point of the year has clearly gone missing.
Be it the registration of marriages in the ongoing wedding season, or just to lay hands on the prized birth certificate for Portuguese passport work, and not to mention the registration of sale deeds, the office of Salcete Sub-Registrar was always bustling with activity. Not, anymore.
These days it wears a deserted look and the reason is obvious -- the Covid-19 pandemic.
Salcete Sub-Registrar, Suraj Vernekar, was in his chamber on Wednesday attending to official duties, while a skeletal staff was found manning the office. At normal times, staff at this office would not even get time to have lunch in this part of the year when the marriage season is at its peak.
The registration of new marriages has come to a screeching halt. Not only is the situation attributed to the closure of the government offices due to the ongoing lockdown, but most people have either postponed or rescheduled their marriages.
Says Sub-Registrar, Vernekar: “Those hit by the lockdown will be compensated by way of extension of time for registration of the marriages. The lockdown will not come in the way of the conformation of the marriage registration.”
The Salcete Sub-Registrar, however, is aware of the fact that March and April are peak months for marriage registrations. Wedding season begins after Easter Sunday, but with Churches shut down and mass gatherings virtually banned marriages are out of the question. Also, many of the bridegrooms in waiting are stuck abroad given the lockdown.
Officials at the Salcete Sub-Registrar pointed out that apart from marriage registrations, registration of sale deeds too have come to a halt. In fact, Vernekar informed that all online appointments taken for the registration of documents such as sale deeds, gift deeds, mortgage deeds stand cancelled up to April 20.
The decision to cancel the appointments have been taken in view of the instructions issued by State Registrar, Brijesh D Manerkar, to cancel all the registrations of documents at all the Civil Registrar-cum-Sub-Registrar offices.
The arrangement, the State Registrar, has said has been initiated to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Vernekar said that the Salcete Sub-Registrar office will start functioning from April 20, adding that his office has already devised a scheme for the employees to work during the lockdown.
