Police were called to the Colombo Divisional Secretariat on Friday after a crowd waiting for copies of birth certificates became agitated over delays and a fight broke out among members of the public.
About 100 people had gathered at the office while only one counter was issuing birth certificate copies, the Daily Mirror reported, citing eyewitnesses. Frustration grew as several other counters remained closed and queues lengthened.
The situation deteriorated further after security personnel told those waiting that they would not be required to leave the premises for lunch, according to the same accounts. A brawl then broke out among some of those in the queue. Police arrived and brought the situation under control.
Eyewitnesses said the counters in operation were plainly insufficient for the number of people seeking services, with several positions unstaffed.
No official account
The Daily Mirror’s report rests entirely on eyewitness accounts. It carries no comment from the Divisional Secretariat, the Ministry of Public Administration or the police, does not say whether anyone was injured or arrested, and gives no explanation for why the additional counters were closed.
Friday followed a long public holiday weekend in Sri Lanka, which the report did not address as a possible factor in either the staffing level or the size of the crowd.
Birth certificate copies are among the most frequently requested documents issued by divisional secretariats, needed for school admissions, passport applications, employment and pension matters.
The incident is a service-delivery failure rather than a political one, but it touches a live commitment: the government has made the digitisation of public services a central plank of its administrative reform agenda. Neither the report nor any official statement addressed whether an online route for obtaining certified copies exists or was available to those queuing.
No other verified Sri Lankan newsroom had reported the incident at the time of writing.
