Ranchi Municipal Corporation floated a helpline (9431104428, 06512206205) around two months ago to register and resolve water related problems from State capital considering the water crisis in the city. But, being shouldered by a lone City Manager, the service is presently finding it difficult to attend to every plaintiff.
Of a mind to evenly distribute the workload, 11 civic guardians will be appointed shortly to look after the water woes of all 55 wards in Ranchi, informed Assistant Municipal Commissioner Bidya Nand Sharma Pankaj.
“11 Nodal Officers will be introduced in the water helpline, each looking after five wards, will be appointed soon to make the service more effective and efficient. Official orders in this regard have been issued already and will be implemented within two to three days,” he stated.
Constituted around two months ago, the helpline was meant to allow people to inform the urban local body about any hindrances in water supply and instances of water wastage. Presently, calls on the helpline are attended singlehandedly by City Manager, Water Board Mrityunjay Prasad.
“Most of the complaints are about dysfunctional hand-pumps, followed by pipe leakages. On an average, more than 10 complaints are received on one number alone during working hours on weekdays. The calls begin to flow in well before office hours and continue much later they are over,” Prasad stated.
Considering that the mobile number is connected to Whatsapp, plaintiffs and ward councillors put in their grievances through the internet-based instant messaging application too. This does not stop people from submitting their complaints in person.
“Once received, the complaints are jotted down and forwarded to the technical teams for resolution. The 55 wards of Ranchi have been divided among nine technical teams which originally fixed faulty hand-pumps, but now address all complaints which come through the helpline,” he further added.
Denizens of Ranchi tend to dial the helpline numbers in matters of water beyond the powers of Water Board too.
“Big leakages in main supply lines can be repaired by Water Resources Department as we do not have the required technical expertise, but they are registered here too. People come to Water Board with all their troubles involving water,” Prasad said.
Owing to the frequency and extremely limited workforce in present, some of the calls go unnoticed too, whereas some are not registered properly.
“The mobile number stays with me but one single person cannot be expected to receive calls all the time. I cannot hand it over to someone else as they may lack the technical knowhow to understand the problem, like in case of unauthorised boring,” Prasad said.
An organised and well-equipped structure for the helpline will definitely go a long way in solving the constant dissatisfaction people have with water supply, he exclaimed.
Although, these arrangements are temporary, rainwater harvesting can be the only permanent solution to all water woes in Ranchi, said Prasad.