Bengaluru civic body has no heart for this septuagenarian

The ex-HAL employee, who had an angioplasty last year, is running around to get property ID error rectified
Retired HAL employee G Krishnamurthy  (73)  waits to meet the Joint Commissioner (Revenue) at BBMP office. | (Vinod Kumar T | EPS)
Retired HAL employee G Krishnamurthy (73) waits to meet the Joint Commissioner (Revenue) at BBMP office. | (Vinod Kumar T | EPS)

BENGALURU: G Krishnamurthy (73), a former HAL employee, looks tired. After nearly an hour of being seated outside the Joint Commissioner’s office in BBMP, he walks with difficulty into the Revenue section office on Wednesday afternoon.

He is next in line to get his property tax error rectified, and is among many others who are frustrated with the software glitch.

A resident of Chennamanakere Achukattu in Banashankari Stage III, Krishnamurthy underwent an angioplasty one-and-a-half years ago. Shortly after, BBMP introduced its new software and an incorrect property ID was generated for Krishnamurthy’s 40X60 site.

For the past one year, he has been visiting the BBMP main office and ward office countless times in the hope of getting the correct property ID that will enable him to pay tax, but in vain.

Just last week, while visiting the ward office of his area — Vidyapeetha — he met with an accident and suffered injuries. Ever since, his son K Guruprasad has been accompanying him on his BBMP rounds that he squeezes amidst his daily routine. Krishnamurthy says the BBMP officials have been asking them to come back once every two or three days, forcing Guruprasad to take leave from work.

“The attitude of the officials here is that we have to turn up whenever they ask us. It doesn’t matter how many times we have already visited the office. I have a school-going son. How do I take paid leave twice or thrice every week?” Guruprasad asks.

It all started last year. “On June 24, our property ID was generated and we realised that it was incorrect. We have written a letter to the Joint Commissioner (Revenue). They haven’t even mentioned our application number while forwarding it to the higher authorities,” he said.

“With an incorrect property ID, a receipt cannot be generated. There is duplication of application numbers too. We have been paying property tax for 33 years regularly. We also get our rebate because we always pay on time. This year, we can’t even pay the tax. How much can a citizen be troubled just to pay `6,000 in tax?” he rues.

An employee of Mandamus Info Knowledge Consultants, Guruprasad is scared to leave his father unaccompanied to this daily exercise of shuttling between offices.

“He has been injured once. What if he is in an accident again? They need him to be present for signatures and other formalities,” he laments.

With Thursday being the last day to avail the 5 per cent rebate, Guruprasad and his father went back home without being able to pay the tax this year.

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