Anti-graft helpline floods with ‘personal’ calls

Anti-graft helpline floods with ‘personal’ calls
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Highlights

Anti-graft helpline floods with ‘personal’ calls, To add to the woes, the details of the complainants which are supposed to be to be kept secret are made public allegedly due to the CMO’s negligence.

  • Out of 11,000 calls received in just five days, only 499 calls are corruption-related
  • Complainant details are made public, thanks to the negligence of CMO

Hyderabad: The anti-corruption helpline which was launched by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to enable citizens to lodge corruption-related complaints against tainted officials is inundated with calls of ‘personal’ grievances and family disputes. The helpline executives of 104 Sevakendram are having a tough time handling a plethora of non-corruption calls.

To add to the woes, the details of the complainants which are supposed to be to be kept secret are made public allegedly due to the CMO’s negligence. The CMO officials, without verifying the call list of complaints, are providing all information and contact details to the media. Many are venting their anger on the CMO and are hesitating in lodging complaints. Over 11,000 calls were received from 10 districts between January 11 and January 15. Out of which, surprisingly, only 499 were corruption-related and the remaining were complaints like family disputes, love affairs, health insurance, ration card problems, non-receipt of scholarships, etc. “We tried not to ignore any call received from the complainants and registered all cases irrespective of their nature. We also received feedback and now we are in a position to strengthen our team to take complaints pertaining to different departments,” general manager of 104 Sevakendram K Shashi said.

With little to no knowledge in dealing with such cases and no proper guidelines from the government, the helpline executives are totally clueless about what to do with the complaints that are being received. “The staff members are getting trained for handling corruption cases. We give the complainant/caller a few options whether they want to get the ACB notified or want their problem solved without paying any bribe. Our executives verify the call and route them appropriately,” a helpline officer clarified.

By: Victor Rao

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