Waqf boards fight portal glitches

Delhi, Haryana, Punjab bodies blame Umeed website bugs for delay in registering properties

- IFRAH MUFTI @NewDethi

WITH the Centre’s December 5 deadline just days away, Waqf boards across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are locked in a desperate race against time, not because of pending paperwork, but due toa near-dysfunctional digital portal that has brought the entire process to a standstill.

The Umeed portal, introduced by the Union government for uploading registered Wagf properties, has been plagued with technical failures so severe that staff across different states has been spending nights in their offices, working on rented mattresses and blankets, hoping to catch the system during the rare moments it comes alive. Officials say the portal typically becomes functional only in the dead of night, sometimes around 2 am, sometimes closer to 5am and even then, the server crashes within 30 minutes.