For Mallesh Bhajantri, resident of Jadiger Oni in Mishrikoti village, 14 km from Hubballi, power cuts and streetlamp repairs are a regular problem. But, he does not run from pillar to post to get them resolved. He just makes a call to Mishrikoti Gram Panchayat.
All his issues — water supply, ration card or information on a scheme — will be resolved by dialling one number — 9066021680 — which the village folk term “call centre number”. It is in reality an IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) and gram panchayat employees and officials have been brought under the network.
While the IVRS is a recent addition, the office of Mishrikoti Gram Panchayat of Kalaghatagi taluk in Dharwad district is well-equipped with CCTV cameras in the office, siren to announce office hours and also gives a “wake up call” to village residents, and walkie-talkies for the staff.
President of the GP, Parvatevva Ganjigatti, has been able to achieve much of this with help from her tech-savvy son Nagaraj acting as her ‘adviser’. Parvatevva is not contesting the coming polls, but has the satisfaction of initiating the change.
Now electrician Mohammed Sab Hussainsab Wontimori gets calls through the ‘call centre’ for repair of streetlamps, while valveman Yallappa Chalavadi gets them for water supply problems, and postman Nadaf provides information regarding issues related to postal delivery. They all believe that the new system has helped the people.
The advantage of this IVRS facility, provided by Knowlarity Communications, is that if the call is not responded to, it is automatically connected to the higher-ups. “The advantage is of more details on a single number and even the escalations happen through the same number. There is more transparency,” said Girija Gowda, head, sales South, at Knowlarity Communications. The company wants to replicate the ‘Mishrikoti experiment’ elsewhere.
