Sir,

I had performed my daughter’s marriage on 18.11.2018. I went to the Sub-Registrar’s Office on 19th for registration of the marriage. I looked at the notice board which had displayed the requirements to be fulfilled for registration. The cost of the application form was Rs.5. I tried to buy it but was not available.

Then I went to the FDC in the Office and asked him where would it be available. He directed me to contact a lady sitting at a desk on the footpath opposite the Office. I enquired with him that if I fill up the form and furnish the documents as listed on the notice board by 3 pm, would it be possible to complete the registration the same day. He just told me to buy the form from the lady.

I went in search of the lady and found her. I asked for the form which I got after paying Rs.50. As I was leaving, she called me back and told me that if I complied with the requirements set out on the notice board, she would get the job done the same day, and that the fee would be Rs.2,500. Now, how did she come to know of my predicament without me raising the issue with her? The only answer is that the staff at the office are hand-in-glove with the middlemen/women.

I was fortunate that my daughter’s father-in-law is an IFS officer. So, he followed his own methods (using the mobile phone) and got it done in a jiffy.

That apart, this is how the common man will be made to part with hefty sums for getting done things which are perfectly legal. This system will never change.

– Ganesh Kini, Mysuru, 31.1.2019

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