Don't demand fresh letters for issuing OBC certificate: Bhandari delegation

MARGAO: A delegation of Bhandari Samaj met and urged the South Goa Deputy Collector on Friday to accept letters issued by the farmer presidents of the community and not insist on fresh letters from the sitting president for issuing caste certificates to the applicants.

President Ashok Naik recently wrote to both the North and South Goa District Collectors complaining of “misuse of caste certificates of the Samaj”. 

Therefore, Naik requested the Collectors to issue caste certificates to applicants only on submission of a letter, signed by the sitting Samaj president and office bearer Fakru Panajikar, certifying that the applicants belong to the Bhandari Samaj. 

Since then, the members of Samaj in Salcete are facing difficulties in getting caste certificates.

Following this, Samaj member Anil Hoble and other office bearers met the deputy collector on Friday and complained that Naik’s request was causing hardship to the community members seeking caste certificates.

However, the delegation was asked by the deputy collector to take up their grievances before their respective district collectors.  

After meeting the Deputy Collector, Hoble said, “Our so called new president had written to the South deputy collector not to issue any OBC certificates to people without their certification. Letter is not the criteria for issuance of certificates, but verification of facts by Talathi is.”

“Certificates are being issued in all Talukas except in Salcete which is injustice to the bhandaris of the taluka,” Hoble claimed. 

When asked how he would solve the issue, Deputy Collector Uday Prabhudessai said, “After the representation of the president of the Samaj to the District Collector, we had stopped issuing caste certificates on old letters. “