The Hindu       19.02.2015   

Corporation helpline hardly helpful, say residents

At least 500 residents pick up their phones and dial 1913 — the Chennai Corporation helpline — every day, but not all their queries are answered, neither is every complaint duly looked into.

Residents say the general attitude of those who answer the phones is one of shirking responsibility and they don’t exhibit an intention to ‘close’ the complaints registered, even if only to show better numbers.

For the year 2014, the helpline and online grievance system registered 3,313 health-related complaints from Chennai residents. Data with the civic body claims all the complaints were looked into and ‘closed’.

Residents, however, are not buying the claim.

Software professional Rakesh K.S., a resident of AGS Colony, 4{+t}{+h}Main Road, Adambakkam, registered a complaint about his dusty road on the online grievance system.

“Dust is swept and collected on the street corners but the Corporation workers do not remove it. I registered a complaint online but a week later, when I checked the status on the Corporation website, the complaint was ‘closed’. The problem is yet to be resolved,” he said.

His family has spent almost Rs. 15,000 on medication for dust allergies, in the past six months, he said.

The Corporation has given the contract of manning the 1913 helpline to Vasanth Enterprises, a manpower agency. Twenty-three youngsters work in three shifts, round-the-clock. But the Corporation admits the system is not foolproof.

Last monsoon, V. Thomas, an Anna Nagar resident, had informed the Corporation about a big tree that had been uprooted and was precariously balanced in front of his house.

He received an acknowledgement of the complaint but no action was taken. After a week he found the complaint had been marked ‘completed’. “A few days later, the tree fell after a bout of rains,” he said.

A senior official said at least one in four complaints is not resolved to residents’ satisfaction.

“We have a long way to go. We are trying our best to look into every pending complaint and reopen those that residents say haven’t been looked into properly,” the Corporation official said.

“We are aware some complaints are closed even before they are addressed, which is why we do a daily review of the complaints received via the helpline and the portal,” he said.

It is ironical, perhaps, that the Chennai Corporation won an award for best e-governance among all the government departments in the State, recently.

The Hindu       10.02.2015     

Encroachments on road margins removed

• Officials remove encroachments on Vanniya Perumal Kovil Street at Mudaliarpet in Puducherry on Monday. (Right) Workers clear the rubble.— Photos: T. Singaravelou

Municipal officials of Puducherry and police removed encroachments from the spots in front of commercial establishments and houses on Vanniya Perumal Kovil Street at Mudaliarpet on Monday.

Commissioner of Puducherry Municipality R. Chandirasekaran said that around 40 shops and 20 houses had encroached upon the platforms up to the end of the road, causing traffic congestion in the area.

The extended platforms ranging from one to three feet had encroached on drainage canals obstructing the flow of sewage. Almost all shops and houses had platforms protruding to the municipal road. A few shops had erected unauthorised structures such as shelters, banners and sign-boards on their own. This hindered the movement of fire tenders into the area, he said.

The municipality served notices on the people, asking them to remove encroachments. But none of them had responded to the notices. The civic body would continue the drive and remove all encroachments in the city, he said.

A few shops have erected unauthorised structures such as shelters, banners and sign-boards