Santosh Naik
santosh@herald-goa.com
PONDA: The offices of the Civil Registration-cum-Sub Registrar and Special Notary Ex-Officio, at Ponda, which are visited regularly by hundreds of people, who have to wait for long hours to get their work done are facing hardships in times of emergency due to the lack of toilet facility.
Further, this being the marriage season, lot of couples visits the Civil Registration-cum-Sub Registrar Office for registration of their marriages and public who also come for the sale deeds, birth certificates and other works, have to wait for quite a long time, so when they want to visit the washroom in times of emergency it becomes difficult for them to use the staff toilet as it is not easily available for the public visiting at this office.
Ponda Municipal Council Councillor Anand Naik said, “He too visits these offices several times to help people to stand as a witness in many cases and I have seen people facing hardship in easing themselves.”
Earlier, these offices were located at Government Building, Tisk- Ponda but due to shortage of space it has been shifted, three years ago, to one private building with other commercial offices with the government reportedly purchasing, shelling out crores of rupees. However, the toilets are provided only to the staff and not the visitors. The public need is reportedly ignored.
When contacted the staff on duty admitted that there is a toilet on the first floor of the building which is allowed only for the staff of the Sub Registrar Office.
“If any public suffers hardship due to absence of toilet then we help them to use the toilet available to us by the building owner,” said one of the staff.
Shivanand Sawanth said, “He too visits these offices for various works as a social worker. But when it comes to toilet, it is need of the public. These offices are meant for public and so they must give priority to use the toilets if provided by government, otherwise what is the use of giving slogans of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
