The Trinamool Congress-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Monday introduced a toll free number for people living in the city to call the Mayor directly every week.
Mayor Firhad Hakim introduced the service on Monday and the programme was telecast live on television. The service will run every week on Wednesdays from 4-5pm (the number is 18003451213).
People living in the city can call the number and talk directly to the Mayor and tell him about needs and requirements in their areas or lodge complaints with him. The Mayor, surrounded by the senior KMC officials, will take down the complaints and resolve them and inform the callers about measures taken, within a week. Firhad Hakim on Monday said, “We will call them back and inform them about the measures we have taken. This is about the people’s right to service.”
In addition, KMC officials will call a hundred people every day to inquire about services required and whether they had anything to complain about. These issues too will be addressed and informed to the citizens.
The Trinamool Congress, after its poor results in the Lok Sabha polls is trying to take measures to reach out to people and cleanse its system of functioning both at the administrative and at the party level. There are various attempts to take up “people-friendly” measures. The party has also appointed poll strategist Prashant Kishor to suggest ways and means to present the party in a new light with an eye on the Assembly elections of 2021. Many of the measures the Trinamool Congress is taking right now are being deemed as suggestions made by Kishor.
The KMC elections though, are scheduled next year and a major challenge for the party ahead.
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