Selfies to loo pics, click-happy citizens spam Election Commission's Vigil app in Odisha
Minati Singha | TNN | Updated: Mar 20, 2019, 10:49 IST
Picture for representational purpose only.BHUBANESWAR: Of all the complaints received by the office of the state's chief electoral officer (CEO) on the Citizens' Vigil (cVigil) app, around 70 per cent are bogus. The app became effective in Odisha on March 13.
Among other things, people have posted selfies and photos of toilets, living rooms and bedrooms on the app. A 24X7 control-room telephone number has got requests for mobile phone recharges and dish TV connections.
The CEO's office however chose to take an optimistic view of the development, saying this showed that people were at least checking out the app.
"Around 70 per cent of the complaints uploaded on the cVigil app have been dropped. Of the remaining, most are about hoardings that carry pictures of party leaders. Many people are uploading selfies and other pictures just to check how the app works. We are happy that people are trying out the app and that they are aware of it," said Sanjay Tripathy, a senior officer at the IT cell in the CEO's office.
In the past one week, the app has received around 250 complaints. Of them, around 150 are bogus. The irrelevant messages do not get registered and are dropped at the level of district election officers. So far, 88 genuine complaints have been resolved, Tripathy said.
Most of the bogus complaints are selfies; some people have posted pictures of children and animals and under-constructed roads. Some have also put up pictures of garbage dumped on the road.
To protect the identity of the complainants, the app allows people to post anonymously. This has made it difficult to identify the mischief-mongers.
"Since parties have started announcing the names of candidates and leaders will start their campaign soon, we are hoping for more genuine complaints in the days to come," Tripathy added.
The maximum number of complaints were lodged from Kandhamal (9.2 per cent) followed by Sundargarh (7.2 per cent), Cuttack (6.8 per cent), Khurda and Puri (5.2 per cent each).
Launched by the Election Commission of India, the app aims at resolving complaints on the violation of the model code of conduct within 100 minutes of them being received.
Among other things, people have posted selfies and photos of toilets, living rooms and bedrooms on the app. A 24X7 control-room telephone number has got requests for mobile phone recharges and dish TV connections.
The CEO's office however chose to take an optimistic view of the development, saying this showed that people were at least checking out the app.
"Around 70 per cent of the complaints uploaded on the cVigil app have been dropped. Of the remaining, most are about hoardings that carry pictures of party leaders. Many people are uploading selfies and other pictures just to check how the app works. We are happy that people are trying out the app and that they are aware of it," said Sanjay Tripathy, a senior officer at the IT cell in the CEO's office.
In the past one week, the app has received around 250 complaints. Of them, around 150 are bogus. The irrelevant messages do not get registered and are dropped at the level of district election officers. So far, 88 genuine complaints have been resolved, Tripathy said.
Most of the bogus complaints are selfies; some people have posted pictures of children and animals and under-constructed roads. Some have also put up pictures of garbage dumped on the road.
To protect the identity of the complainants, the app allows people to post anonymously. This has made it difficult to identify the mischief-mongers.
"Since parties have started announcing the names of candidates and leaders will start their campaign soon, we are hoping for more genuine complaints in the days to come," Tripathy added.
The maximum number of complaints were lodged from Kandhamal (9.2 per cent) followed by Sundargarh (7.2 per cent), Cuttack (6.8 per cent), Khurda and Puri (5.2 per cent each).
Launched by the Election Commission of India, the app aims at resolving complaints on the violation of the model code of conduct within 100 minutes of them being received.
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