The solution to the centre lies in limiting the areas of the city designated to each centre
KARACHI: Last month, NADRA inaugurated two mega centres in DHA and North Nazimabad in Karachi. Although seemingly offering citizens easier access to services through the operation of centrally air-conditioned 28 counters, the centre is an unfortunate institution. My experience there last night was painful and difficult.
The largest shortcoming of it is that its jurisdiction is too large. For instance, the DHA centre is not just serving residents of Defence but rather it extends to surrounding slums and neighbouring areas. As a result, although there is a Qmatic machine token system, the lines to reach the token system are long, unruly and formed outside the centre itself. After a long and tedious wait outside, one finally reaches the inside of the centre only to discover that they will now receive a token to wait again. There is no hour of the day in which the mega centres are not crowded.
The centres boast time efficiency, with claims that the centre in Defence can process 1,600 cards at a time. However, what is not taken into consideration is how much time the average citizen has to waste in the process. Though there is a green and white themed seating arrangement, many were without a place to sit even once inside due to the amount of people in the building.
The solution to the centre lies in limiting the areas of the city designated to each centre. This means that perhaps the DHA centre should only cater to Defence, since its population is large enough on its own. The construction of many more centres like these are vital considering Karachi’s growing population. If more centres are created, the waiting time would be tremendously minimised and less agonising.
Reja Younis
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2017.
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