Ranchi: The drinking water and sanitation department here has announced a series of helpline numbers — centralised as well as ward-level coordinators — for public grievances to improve the water supply system as well as address shortcomings, if any, on priority.
Officials of the Booty supply division, which caters to the majority of the population in the city, said the idea behind making the numbers public is to crowdsource issues concerning water supply to tackle them well in a coordinated manner.
The department has notified — 8863016796 — for those willing to complain directly at the Booty pump house. The official notification read, "These numbers can be used by the public to complain or inform about pipe leakages, damage or any other issues plaguing water supply in their respective areas so that corrective steps can be taken at the earliest."
An official of the department added, "At times, leaked pipelines remain unattended for days only because we don't get information about it. We are also trying to work in a coordinated manner with other stakeholders in the city like RMC, Juidco, road department among others which undertake various development works from time to time to ensure that public utility assets can be maintained and restored properly to rid people from inconveniences."
People welcomed the step but appealed to officials concerned to respond to the complaints. Citing unattended leakage for months at Chiroundi Chowk, Radheshyam Sharma, a local said, "I had complained to the RMC on its toll-free number in the past but this issue remains unattended till date. This isn't the first time that such helplines are rolled out by departments but they mostly remain either non-responsive or the status of grievance redressal is often unknown to the complainant."