eSeva centres in old city in poor state

People have to wait for hours to submit applications for various services

The eSeva centres in old city are ill equipped to handle extra rush. Photo: M. Subhash

Planning to apply for income, caste or residential certificate at eSeva centres in old city. Then keep aside a whole day for the task could take between four to five hours or even days, if you are not lucky.

A place of convenience it should have been instead it is leaving the people in quandary. Hundreds of visitors to the eSeva centres are facing hardship in submitting their applications on account of limited equipment and technical glitches.

It is mandatory for a person intending to obtain these certificates to apply at the eSeva centre. In the past applications were accepted at local MRO offices. However, since last one year one has to apply at eSeva centres from where it is routed to the concerned MRO offices for issue of certificates. The certificates are then sent back to eSeva centre and delivered to applicants.

What compounds the problem is the change of policy. For the past few days, staff is now scanning the documents enclosed along with applications. “We have received a directive from the district administration,” says a staffer at the Santoshnagar eSeva centre.

There are two eSeva centres in old city one at Bahadurpura and another at Santoshnagar and neither are well equipped to perform the job of scanning the documents. There is one scanner at hand and it is taking hours to do the job. “Though I was the tenth person in the queue I am waiting for the past five hours. How long they expect people to wait for submitting an application,” asks Mohd. Jahangir of Gazimillat colony.

At the Santoshnagar eSeva complaints of ‘server problem' are common, say the visitors. “I am coming for the past one week,” says a visitor. People from the Charminar and Bandlaguda mandals come here to submit applications. The certificates are essential for admissions in educational institutions and for availing scholarships, they say.

The situation is the same at Bahadurpura eSeva centre. People complain of spending hours at a stretch to submit applications “I have to apply for scholarships and for the income certificates I am waiting for past four hours,” says Syed Zameer Ali, a private teacher from N.S. Kunta.

Last year there was huge rush for weeks at stretch as hundreds of applicants turned up at the eSeva centres to obtain income certificates. This year too the demand is expected to be huge during June and July. Will the authorities live up to expectations?