Protests erupt against corruption, faulty systems in tehsil office

Rawalpindi:The Sub-Registrar and other government officials ran away when they saw an angry crowd raising slogans against corrupt practices in the Tehsil office. The Sub-Registrar called the police to avoid a law and order situation and directed to lock all doors of the registry branch on Thursday.

Abusive language was used excessively by both protesters and the Sub-Registrar in the Tehsil office. Onlookers, especially the women, were embarrassed by the tense situation. They reported that they had been present since morning, but no one was available to resolve their issues. They also stated that there was no system in place to address public concerns; instead, everyone was demanding money at the Tehsil office. They had attempted to complain at the Deputy Commissioner (DC) office but to no avail.

A large number of affected people strongly protested against the corrupt government officers in the Tehsil office who were demanding hefty bribes to register land documents. The general public and stamp vendors occupied the office of the Sub-Registrar, demanding the immediate resignation of the corrupt officer, threatening to block the main Murree Road if their demands were not met.

Thousands of people were facing difficulties due to the computerised registration system being down for several days, while higher authorities turned a blind eye to the situation. The Rawalpindi Tehsil Office and Kutcherry registration branches were crowded with the public. The affected people also protested against the faulty computerized system, demanding a manual system to avoid difficulties for the general public.

The protesters alleged that the corrupt officers of the Registry Branch were favouring certain individuals or those who were paying large bribes. The Sub-Registrar (Urban and Rural), Rawalpindi, Usman Shah, stated to 'The News' that they were helpless due to the faulty computerised system. He claimed that because of the link down of the faulty computerised system, they could not clear land documents. “I have locked all doors of the registry branch because we could not work in this tense and hostile atmosphere,” he said.

The affected people appealed to the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi to take immediate action to resolve this issue. They acknowledged the Punjab government's efforts but lamented the failure to maintain the computerised system, which frequently experienced server downtime.

Police officials arrived at the Tehsil office in Rawalpindi to control the law and order situation, but tensions persisted until the filing of this report. The angry protesters claimed that all government departments in Rawalpindi were suffering due to bad governance, while the city's higher-ups turned a blind eye. They appealed to Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz to intervene and address Rawalpindi's issues; otherwise, the public would take to the streets soon, they warned.