Liza Sinojia
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jun 27: Two months into the live phone-in programme, Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) mayor Kavita Sanil has termed the public interaction 'experiment' heading on its right path.

While the mayor attended 36 calls during the debut of the 'phone-in' programme in May, this month about 29 callers reached out to the mayor with their woes. "At present we are operating only two telephone lines. We took cognizance of 29 complaints, but since the lines were busy about 18 callers were unable to contact and were routed as missed calls," mayor Kavita Sanil said.

On being asked, if the MCC intended to increase the frequency of 'phone-in' calls, from monthly to fortnightly, the mayor said that given her current schedule it may be difficult.

Alongside mayor, various department heads were present during the phone-in programme and took note of problems raised by people. "Majority of the grievances are attended to in a day's time. Except one issue that requires a tender to be floated, all grievances from the previous month's programme were resolved within a week's time," Kavita Sanil said.

According to the MCC, the concerns flagged by citizens ranged from fixing of potholes, drainage issues, anti-encroachment drives among others.

The monthly ‘phone-in’ idea was mooted by mayor Kavita Sanil along with MCC commissioner Mohammed Nazeer. The first phone call was made on May 23.

The phone line was opened for the public to report any civic issues to the mayor directly. "It is only a value added service, people at any time can visit my office with their grievances. Moreover, they can also make constructive suggestion," the mayor added.