Bengaluru department of stamps and registration mixes up phone numbers

##BIG-IMAGE# BENGALURU:The department of stamps and registration which had listed on its website a phone number for queries regarding administrative matters and guidance value seems to have been goofed up, by drawing the wrath of a cloth merchant on Avenue Road, which is the city’s retail hub.

J Rajender, who is the owner of Kamadhenu Textile Agency and a resident of Chamarajpet. “I am into textile business but my landline number is bombarded with calls related to property-related queries. This has been happening for two years and I am fed up.”  Rajender said that while he has had the landline connection at his shop for over four decades, he has been dealing with this issue since 2016.

“Initially, we got phone calls seeking information regarding stamps and registration. We thought it was by mistake and would hang up saying, ‘wrong number’. But the calls continued to increase and we realised something was majorly wrong. I checked the website of the department and found my shop’s phone number listed as the official number of BS Sridhar, deputy inspector-general of registration,” said Rajender.

“After I saw my contact number on their website, I mailed them multiple times. But neither have they responded to my mails not rectified the error. It is not like the department is unaware of the nuisance we are facing, yet it is reluctant to remove the number.” he said. 

It is not just people of Bengaluru who call on this number. Even people who have settled abroad have been dialling in. “People from the US, Australia and other parts of the world have called my shop. They ask for stamp duties for a specific category of property and seek information about market value of land, among other things. I request people who call from Bengaluru to go and complain about the wrong number mentioned on the website,” said Rajender.

KV Thrilok Chandra, the inspector-general of registration and commissioner of stamps, was surprised when he found out about the issue.“This is news to me. I will look into the matter,” said Chandra.