The Hindu      08.07.2016   

Mobile app for slum dwellers

Slum dwellers in the Capital will soon be able to register complaints of malfunctioning or dirty toilets with just a tap on their mobile phones. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) is planning to launch a mobile app for swift resolution of issues related to community toilets.

“The demand to have a common grievance redressal mechanism for toilets was repeatedly raised by inhabitants of slums and JJ clusters. So, we have designed an app to ensure time-bound redressal of complaints, which will be open to public within a few months,” informed DUSIB officials.

Simplified process

The app has been colour-coded keeping in mind the literacy level of the slum dwellers. Anyone who wants to suggest anything about a particular community toilet will just have to tap on one of the three colours. “Tapping red will mean a toilet is in pathetic or bad condition and needs immediate action. Yellow means good, whereas, green would indicate that the unit is in excellent condition,” said a senior official.

These coloured ratings will be available for various complaints spread across 8-10 categories, which would include parameters like cleanliness, sewage line (if its overflowing or not), condition of the WCs, water availability and so on.

For complaints that do not fall in any of the categories, a separate box will be provided at the bottom of the page where one can type out the specific problem.

As soon as a complaint is registered, an auto-generated mail will be sent to the executive engineer of the area, who will have to get the problem rectified within 48 hours. The entire system will be monitored by superiors.

In case of inability of taking any action due to some reason, the matter will be referred to the Chief Engineer and then the Chief Executive Officer.

At present, the app is being used for trial by DUSIB for its internal monitoring.

The Hindu        08.07.2016   

‘Safety task force’ in SDMC schools

From earthquakes to exposed wiring, all potential hazards for students of South Delhi Municipal Corporation schools, are being mapped and task forces being set up to deal with them.

About 2.94 lakh children study in the SDMC’s 578 primary schools which are currently being audited for their safety.

In January this year, the lack of safety at an SDMC school in Kapashera was exposed when a four-year-old boy fell into an open septic tank and died.

The cover of the tank had been broken for days, officials of the SDMC Education Department admitted later.

To make sure that the tragedy doesn’t repeat itself, the SDMC is conducting an extensive programme to make its schools safer with the help of NGO -- Save the Children. The programme includes setting up of safety task forces in all schools, conducting a ‘hazard hunt’, training the students and holding mock drills.

“We will set up safety task forces, comprising students and teachers, in all SDMC schools. So far, 32 schools have set up these task forces,” said SDMC’s Additional Commissioner for Education, Meeta Singh.

According to ‘Save the Children’, the 32 SDMC schools have not only set up the task force, but also conducted mock drills, set up disaster resource rooms and mapped out potential dangers within the school and outside.

154 schools being assessed

Around 154 schools of the SDMC’s Central Zone are also being assessed for potential risks and resources.

Avinash Kumar, the State programme manager for Save the Children in Delhi, said the authorities tend to focus on natural calamities like earthquakes or man-made devastation like fire when it comes to disaster preparedness.

“However, when we talk about building the resilience of children, we must think larger and include everyday risks that the children face, especially in urban areas,” said Mr. Kumar, adding that road safety as well as protection from abuse are important aspects.

Potential dangers within the school as well as outside will be mapped by the teams of students and teachers, and then based on their findings changes would be suggested to make the schools safer, he said.

Officials of the SDMC said the programme would be ramped up in the coming month as the schools have reconvened after summer break this week.