Everything is in the name

Granite businessman Ashok Goyal (35) wanted to become Ashok Kumar Goyal. He did not realise that this simple desire would put him on a collision course with civic officials. His life would soon get entangled in a web of BBMP red-tapism.

Goyal thought his papers were clean and he could get the name change incorporated in his birth certificate.

Armed with valid documents, he knocked on the doors of the Citizens Service Centre on Public Utility Building on MG Road and submitted his application for change of name in birth certificate on 27/4/2010.

When civic officials told Goyal that he had to produce his identity papers, he flashed his passport, voter’s ID and ration card hoping that his job would be done in a jiffy.

But Goyal never bargained for the civic officials dismissing all the documents as trash.

The officials told Goyal that they would settle for nothing less than his SSLC marks card if they had to accept his name change application.

Goyal’s pleas that his SSLC marks card was untraceable, and that he would have to go to Haryana, where he did his matriculation, to get the marks card, fell on deaf ears.

Goyal began visiting the centre on the PUB ground floor whenever he could. The officials on the ground floor had the same answer to him each time: go to the statistics department on the 10th floor.

Back on the 10th floor, Goyal was told that he would have to get the clearance from the officials on the ground floor.

On Tuesday, Ashok was at the centre. He was fortunate that he was there in time for the surprise visit of deputy mayor N Dayanand. Ashok poured his heart out to the deputy mayor.

A furious Dayanand took the officials to task. “I want to know why there is such a lack of communication and co-ordination between officials on the ground floor and officials on the 10th floor. Why is it that acknowledgments on applications state that the citizens have to return after seven days?” he asked.