Click to play videoChennai: 9788951111: That's the number you need to SMS your civic complaint to if you're in Chennai.
The Chennai Corporation authorities promise swift action through this service. But do people actually know that this service exists?
Apart from news reports in some local dailies, the Corporation has not taken enough steps to spread the word about this brand new facility, preferring word of mouth publicity.
But despite that, there are some like 81-year-old P V Sambasivan who have benefited from it. He sent a message complaining about garbage in his area and as promised, swift action was taken.
“I'm very pleased with this system. They sent me a reply immediately saying we have noted your complaint and then they periodically kept sending me status reports on what exactly is happening. It's a fantastic facility,” says P V Sambasivan, a resident of Ashok Nagar.
Since the facility was launched 10 days back, the Corporation has received about 250 SMSs. Most of them have been about piling garbage.
"Most people complain about garbage and the condition of the roads. We forward these to the departments concerned and in cases, the local councilors who ensure that the work gets done. If there is a delay in solving it, we give them the reason for delay. We also SMS them the status of the work,” says M Subramanian, the Mayor of Chennai.
So it's a system that actually works! And it would work better if more residents knew about it and used it to their benefit.
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