Mangalore: Now, an Online Platform for Citizens to Vent Grievances

Mangalore: Now, an Online Platform for Citizens to Vent Grievances

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
With Inputs from Media Release

Mangalore, Jul 18: A platform on www.welcometoreason.com website to post complaints by aggrieved citizens against public authorities for their acts of omission and commission was launched here on Tuesday July 17 by Dr B K Ravindra, principal, SDM Law College.

Displaying the new masthead (home page), modified to incorporate the grievance ventilator platform, Dr Ravindra exhorted prospective complainants to make responsible and judicious use of this platform. He commended the website’s initiative for offering such platform to articulate the grievances of citizens.

Elaborating, Dr Ravindra said, "As citizens become increasingly aware about their rights and the shortcomings of the administration become more evident, providing the affected citizens a platform to air their grievances is an important duty of those who have the resources to do so. The objective of the new platform is to develop a responsive and accountable attitude among all public authorities and encouraging the public to express their grievances in quest of redressal."
 
Explaining the working of the platform, John B Monteiro, editor and promoter of the website, said that the complaints should be brief and outline the cause of complaint, efforts made by the complainant to secure redressal, the result thereof and what relief is sought and from whom.

The complaint should be against the public authority involved and not any official by name. There is a user-friendly window on the home page which prompts users on how to post their complaints. The total length of the complaint should not exceed 2,000 characters, as the complaint window will auto-close on reaching this limit.

Speaking to Daijiworld, John Monteiro said that in the coming days, genuine complaints will be forwarded to the authorities concerned. Also, he hoped that the authorities themselves will visit the website and look into complaints and take action.

"When you express grievances in a newspaper, it is only for a day, but here we will ensure that the complaints remain on the website for more time," he added.