Believing that citizen participation is vital to build a vibrant city, Janaagraha has launched www.ichangemycity.com [1], a social e-platform for any citizen to post complaints on civic issues and attract the attention of authorities.
Swathi Ramanathan, co-founder of Janaagraha, a non-government organisation, said that the web portal has already received about 500 complaints in the last five days. About 355 complaints have come from Kathriguppe ward represented by Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy. One complainant said that the manhole leaks in front of his house at AGS Layout in Arehalli at least twice a week. Another complaint from a group of people was about an overflowing manhole near St Joseph’s hostel, while yet another complaint was about the lack of streetlights on 4th cross HBR Layout.
Janaagraha will formally announce the launch on July 21 in Mayor Venkatesh Murthy's ward, coinciding with janaspandana. The complaints will be forwarded to the respective civic departments. The portal also provides for marking the exact location of a problem on the map. The list of complaints from the public will be shared with all the civic agencies on a daily basis to ensure they act upon it.
Janaagraha believes that many citizens want to be involved and have complaints but don’t know how to go about registering them. They are intimidated by the government machinery, don’t have links with the government or don’t have the time. Hence, internet and GIS will help the public lodge complaints easily. Two years of hard work and at least one lakh man hours have been invested in making this initiative a reality.
The portal also helps people with common complaints come together. The website will create communities of people and help them raise their voice, Ms Ramanathan said. She said no government or civic agency can ignore the complaints of the public. They must act and resolve the complaints.
Links:
[1] http://www.ichangemycity.com