Home delivery, thankfully, means more than pizza in the capital nowadays.
If you are a senior citizen, a differently abled person or a woman who does not want to stand in a queue for your residential, caste, birth, death or income certificate, you can dial the Pragya Kendra toll-free number 9771201695 at Karamtoli Chowk from the convenience of your home.
Inaugurated in November, the 22nd Pragya Kendra (common service centre) of the capital is also the only one in the city to have a toll-free number and a home delivery system.
The response to the service has been encouraging.
So far, five applicants have opted for the home delivery service. Processing of their certificates is underway.
The home delivery system costs Rs 300-400 as opposed to Rs 30 if one visits any of the Pragya Kendras in person.
An applicant can call up the toll-free number anytime between 10am and 5pm, which, refreshingly enough, actually works.
Any one among the three state government officials deputed for online registration takes the call and notes down the caller’s requirement. Then, the official fixes a time for the visit of a delivery boy — there are currently two — to the caller’s home to collect necessary documents. The Pragya Kendra official also informs every applicant about documents and photographs she/he must keep at hand, based on the specific certificate desired.
The official also informs the applicant that the certificate would be ready in 15-20 days and it would again be delivered at home.
Manager of Pragya Kendra Praveen Chanchal said this was first the first Kendra with a home delivery facility. “So far, we have received five forms for making certificates through the home delivery system. We get some 10 queries every day about the process,” Chanchal said.
The manager added that maximum queries relate to birth certificates. “The new academic season will start and parents want birth certificates to be ready. We hope this service helps out differently abled parents,” Chanchal added.
Doranda resident Vinod Kumar, who is physically challenged, agreed. “I don’t have to go around Kendra offices and wait in queues. I applied for the home delivery for my son’s birth certificate. So far, I am pleased with the service. The official who received my call was polite and informative and the delivery boy came punctually,” he said.
Callers apart, 30 residents have visited the Karamtoli centre in person to get certificates. For them, too, queuing up is less of a hassle. Once the applicants deposit their documents at the Kendra, they can wait for an SMS telling them their certificate is ready, instead of going all the way to the centre to track its progress.
The centre started functioning from November 18, though former Speaker of Jharkhand Assembly C.P. Singh formally inaugurated it on November 26. Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay and principal secretary JAP (IT) N.N. Sinha were also present.
Across Jharkhand, there are 2,854 Pragya Kendras. In Ranchi, important ones are situated at Birsa Bus Stand, Khadgarha, AG More (Doranda), Church Road, Karbala Chowk, Vikas Bhawan, Kutchery, Ratu Road and Morabadi.
Other centres are not faring that well. Sanjay Kumar Budhia, in-charge of the AG More (Doranda) Kendra, said their centre opened three months ago but are facing an Internet glitch.
