Payment of utility bills is a difficult task, especially for the elderly, since one has to wait in queues for long.
The recent introduction of online payment by the KSEB and the KWA has come as a boon for citizens. The procedure user-friendly too. Online payment should be extended to other areas such as payment of corporation tax by house owners. If the Corporation creates a database of houses this payment could easily be made online.
Another area which needs computerisation is the department which keeps the database of land ownership. Land records are kept in yellowing books with frayed edges. The staff are incompetent, and in most instances, corrupt. If the land records are computerised, as was done by Karnataka, land tax too can be paid online thus avoiding innumerable visits to the village offices.
Anjali Sreekumar
Prasanth Nagar
Hazard posed by electronic waste
Waste disposal is primarily the responsibility of the local body. In many areas in the city, used tube lights are found dumped on the roadside; for example, the road in front of the Poojappura jail cafeteria. Exposure to the electronic waste is hazardous to public health and hence immediate action needs to be taken to remove them and dispose them of safely.
K. Sivankutty Nair
Valiyavila
'Hidden' traffic signals
The authorities are keen on penalising those who flout traffic rules. However it should also be noted that motorists on city roads have a tough time seeing traffic signals because they are usually hidden by banners, advertisements or tree branches. The problem can be avoided by trimming the branches and avoid eye-catching advertisements near traffic lights.
Subrahmanian K.
Sasthamangalam
