OAS strike brings public services to a halt in Twin City
Pramod Behera, a native of Puri district, arrived for his younger brother's marriage registration but had to return empty-handed. Hundreds of people faced the same fate as the protesting officers refused to work until their demands were met, said notary Subhash Chandra Mahapatra.
Advocate Chandan Kumar Mishra put things in perspective. 'More than seven clients of mine had to return today due to the mass leave by OAS and ORS officers. Essential services like marriage registration, name change, Aadhaar corrections, land demarcation, issuance of legal heir certificate and others have been severely affected due to the officers' protest,' he said.
It was the same story in neighbouring Cuttack. One of the most affected groups by the strike has been parents and guardians of students. With the admission season in full swing, many are unable to obtain essential documents such as caste, income, residence, and economically weaker section certificates.
'I've been visiting the tehsil office for the past two days to get residence, caste, and income certificates required for my son's college admission. But the dealing assistant asks me to go back, saying the officers are on leave,' said Raghunath Behera, a resident of Julikipada.
For the past two days, key administrative offices such as the Board of Revenue, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central Division, Cuttack Development Authority (CDA), and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) have seen little to no activity, with officers on mass leave.
Generally, tehsildars performs duty of executive magistrates. Since they are on leave, the persons summoned under section 126 of Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita(BNSS) have to return without availing bail order. Similarly, many people faced problem after being unable to get affidavits done before an executive magistrate, said a city based advocate.
The strike, which began on July 1, brought critical public services to a grinding halt across the twin city.
From land records and revenue matters to grievance redressal and enforcement duties, the absence of OAS and ORS officers, considered the backbone of grassroots governance, has led to delays and public frustration and anger against the officers.
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