BMC痴 census helplines of little help………Sudhir Suryawanshi
Meant for those who missed the first phase of enumeration, the cell numbers have added to confusion as most people assumed the first two digits were the country
Meant for those who missed the first phase of enumeration, the cell numbers have added to confusion as most people assumed the first two digits were the country
Can the civic body ever get it right? After the initial hiccups in getting the massive census operation started, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently published 24 helpline numbers for those who missed filling up the primary census forms.
However, when citizens called on the numbers, there was no response. Predictably, BMC was quick to hold the citizens responsible for the problem. Apparently, everyone forgot to dial the first two digits of the helplines, which start with 91, and dialled the remaining eight numbers digits only, assuming it was a landline number.
展e were dialling an eight-digit number repeatedly for the last two days. But there were no response. We had assumed 91- before the published number 91 (67259701) is the country code and left it out. The BMC should have not given such a misleading helpline number. It is a public advertisement and they should have kept it straight and simple for the layman,� said Shraddha Raut, resident of Ashokwan in Borivali.
BMC-trained enumerators started the first phase of 15th National Census from May 1 with house listing and door-to-door process for data collection. Thanks to summer vacations, more than 20 per cent citizens missed the census. It is for this section of the population that the civic body published these helplines for all its 24 wards in several newspapers.
However, the helplines proved to be more of a hindrance than help, especially for conscientious citizens such as Rajesh Malde, a businessman from Matunga who did not want to miss the enumeration process. 的n this city, most people work and there is rarely anyone at home when the enumerators come knocking. Since the civic body generally gives out landline numbers, it did not occur to us this could be a cellphone number. It is the BMC痴 responsibility to ensure that all citizens are included in this census,� he emphasised.
G T Ambe, BMC chief health executive, who is also looking into census work, defended the decision to give out cellphone numbers saying it was a deliberate move because it takes time to acquire landline numbers. 溺eanwhile we have received several calls from citizens making enquiries about the census process on these published numbers. We have also issued clarification. The helpline service will be available for 24 hours and if they have still doubts and queries, they can also call on (022) 24706180 phone numbers during official working hours,� he said, adding, 的t is every citizen痴 responsibility to keep trying all numbers until they get through.�