Helpline goes abuzz; replies were polite, say callers

Within a few hours of the integrated public grievance management system being announced, the toll free

helpline

1100 had received a flurry of calls. Several citizens TOI spoke to said the helpline was busy and that they were able to connect after repeated attempts.

The first eight times, my calls to 1100 got automatically disconnected after a brief ‘line is busy’ message, said V Murali, a resident of Madipakkam. "I wanted to file a

civic

complaint of waste being dumped on a private plot causing mosquito menace and a health risk for kids. The representative I spoke to was

polite

and promptly registered a complaint after asking questions about which zone and ward the area falls under, and other identification details such as my name, address and contact number," Murali said.

V S Jayaraman, a resident of T Nagar, too had a few failed attempts before his call went through. He made a complaint about the sudden upward revision of property

tax

. "I’m waiting for a response and I am interested to know the efficacy of the helpline," Jayaraman said.

Several others TOI spoke to said the representatives were polite and that their call lasted for at least five minutes. They were assured that their grievance registrations will be acknowledged with a text message and then will be followed up by the department concerned.