After a month of grappling with delays amid the strike by Punjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU), normalcy is expected to return as the strike was officially called off on Sunday. The prolonged strike had created a significant backlog of pending applications at government offices, causing inconvenience to residents.
Residents were observed flocking to various government offices in a bid to get their pending work addressed, emphasising the impact the strike had on their daily lives.
According to the information obtained from the regional transport authority (RTA), a staggering 14,050 applications for new registration certificates are pending, contributing to a total of 26,175 applications awaiting processing. These include requests for driving licences, vehicle passing, and transfer of ownership, among others.
Similarly, the office of the deputy commissioner reported the highest pendency in the state, with 6,159 pending applications. These applications cover a range of services, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, and caste certificates.
The strike, initiated on November 14, 2023, hampered operations in public dealing departments, affecting crucial services. Residents, meanwhile, had expressed frustration with the prolonged strike.
Satnam Singh, a city resident at the RTA office, shared his ordeal, saying, “It was a harassment for the residents as government staff are usually seen on strike against government policies, and this was the longest strike I have seen, disrupting the lives of people. My daughter’s driving licence application was not moved further due to the long strike.”
{{/usCountry}}Satnam Singh, a city resident at the RTA office, shared his ordeal, saying, “It was a harassment for the residents as government staff are usually seen on strike against government policies, and this was the longest strike I have seen, disrupting the lives of people. My daughter’s driving licence application was not moved further due to the long strike.”
{{/usCountry}}“I request the authorities to expedite the work and clear the pendency as we have a lot of other things to do with these processes,” he added.
Another resident, Harjot Singh, voiced his concerns about the impact on appointments, saying, “I have applied for the appointment of my duplicate driving licence picture, but the strike was extended two times, due to which my appointment was cancelled despite me having paid the fee.”
Jasmeen Kaur, another resident, said, “I have applied for my daughter’s birth certificate a few weeks ago, but did not get the certificate on time as officials were not seen at their desk. This has led to a backlog of my other tasks, only because of this document.”