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E-Governance

Civic Problem? Click, Upload

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The Times of India                              05.03.2013 

Civic Problem? Click, Upload

LUDHIANA: If you encounter a street light on the blink, a perilous pothole, a garbage dump bang in the middle of the road or an encroachment which has turned into an eye sore, take a shot and upload it on Municipal Corporation (MC) website. Expect the problem to be redressed immediately.

MC has launched a smart phone app for residents to report their grouses. It is called Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Citizens' Reporting and Mapping Tool (LMC CRAMAT). This app can be installed free of cost on any android-based smart phone by downloading it from the Internet. Jaskirat Singh, owner of the IT company that has been hired to develop the software, said through this app, citizens can send pictures and exact locations of any problems anywhere in the city. This application would help the administration in maintenance of the city. It can also improve the city bus service if the loopholes are brought to the notice of the civic authorities. Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria launched this smart phone application along with some other councillors and the members of the legislative assemblies on Monday
morning.

"The application will allow MC to harness the power of technology that are available in today's smart phones like digital cameras, global positioning system (GPS), Google Maps and wireless Internet which have all been put together in this application. Citizens can easily complain to MC about a problem with details including photos, precise location on the maps and time in just a couple of clicks," said Rakesh Verma, MC commissioner.
Rakesh Verma, MC commissioner, said the users of the application can also select the nature of complaint from 10 different categories and can also type a brief description of their grouse. The application would then automatically upload the complaint to MC server via internet and the resident would get an instant email and SMS with a complaint number. The application would also automatically keep the complainant updated via SMS and email when MC assigns the complaint to an attendant and again when the matter is remedied.

GROUSE

10 categories under which the complaints can be filed are:
Streetlights, water supply or sewage, roads, sanitation, tehbazari, encroachments, horticulture, unauthorized construction, illegal advertisements / boards / hoardings, city bus service

How to Install it

The application is available for download on Google Play Store
Open Play Store in your phone and search for LMC CRAMAT
Click Install button to install it on the android tab or phone
There is also a direct link to the app on www.webrosoft.com

How to Use

One time set up | Once the app is successfully installed, start the app and register yourself by entering your email id, cellphone number and password. You need to follow this step only the first time. Once registered, log in using your email id and password. Once logged in, you can start sending complaints.

How to send complaint

Click "Add" Icon (Camera Starts)
Click Red Camera icon to capture picture.
Select Category of the complaint
Add a brief description
Final submit

Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 March 2013 08:57
 

Russell Market under CCTV net, linked to nearest police station

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The Times of India                   04.03.2013 

Russell Market under CCTV net, linked to nearest police station

BANGALORE: Recent terror strikes on busy streets --- be it Connuaght Place in New Delhi or Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad --- have sharpened the focus on security at markets.

Russell Market traders, who have rebuilt the market after a fire gutted part of the landmark structure, have now sanitized their marketplace against terror strikes by installing high definition CCTV cameras.

The first lot of eight cameras was installed on Sunday afternoon. The traders have already placed an order for 21 more cameras and gradually the number will be increased to 40. Not just that, within a week, a direct feed from all the CCTVs in the market will be available at the Shivajinagar police station for monitoring the situation in the crowded market area.

The cameras were installed on the outer perimeter of the market, covering all the entry and exit points. "This is just the beginning. Every section of the market area will have four cameras each and it will be linked to a control room, apart from the individual screens provided for the traders to monitor their premises," said Mohammed Idrees Choudhury, general secretary, Russell Market.

CCTV footage up to 15 days will be stored in a hard drive located in the market premises and copies of these visuals will be made twice a month for record purposes. "Also we will create a direct link to the Shivajinagar police station and police will be given an IP address through which they can monitor the situation at the market," said Akmal Pasha, Meltech computers and security system..

Though the CCTV cameras are in place, the traders regret that the entire market is still running on generators. On January 31, the BBMP council has passed the resolution restoring the electricity and water connections to Russell Market; however, the supply is yet to start.
Last Updated on Monday, 04 March 2013 08:54
 

Building tax remittance gets easier in Malappuram

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The Times of India                   04.03.2013

Building tax remittance gets easier in Malappuram

MALAPPURAM: The remittance of building tax in local bodies is going to be completely online by April 1.

The local bodies are introducing the online facility for tax remittance as part of the e-district initiative, which is being introduced in the district.

It is expected that the building tax remittance would become easier with the introduction of the facility.

At present the local bodies are using Samkhya software for tax remittance and majority of local bodies are outsourcing the duty of manual entry of details due to the shortage of staff.

The e-payment facility would be driven by the Sanjaya software developed by Information Kerala Mission (IKM). The new software would be linked with the existing Samkhya software.

The local bodies will also introduce SMS update service along with e-payment of building tax.

Almost all issues regarding the tax payments would be resolved with the introduction of online system in local bodies, said district panchayat president Zuhara Mambad.

"Some local bodies have already introduced the system. The system will help to avoid long queues in front of offices and it also will help to tide over the manpower shortage,"she said.

A huge dip has been recorded in the tax collection of local bodies this year as only 65 per cent of building tax was remitted so far in this fiscal. The government's plan to introduce revised building tax system was cited as the major reason for the dip in the total amount of building tax that already remitted in local bodies in the district.

Last Updated on Monday, 04 March 2013 08:11
 


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