Daijiworld Media Network

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1: In a bid to make the state government and particularly his office more people-friendly, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy in a first-of-its-kind measure opened a 24/7 call centre at his office.

It may be recalled that in July, Chandy had introduced live webcast from his office chamber, a step that received much appreciation from the public.

The new move immediately was a big hit among the citizens, with as many as 2,300 calls being registered in the very first hour.

People from across the state called the toll-free number to express their grievances. The first call was by a family who had lost its bread earner, and was looking for a job for the deceased family head's children.

Chandy promptly responded to the request, assuring the family that the matter will be looked into and that the family will be kept up-to-date on the progress of the complaint.

Chandy's office is the only one in the country to have a round-the-clock call centre for registering people's complaints.

The centre will have 16 employees working in three shifts, with a capacity to take seven calls simultaneously. The complaint will be stored in a computer and an SMS will be sent to the complainant soon after it is registered.

"The moment the complaint is registered, it goes online to five officials. If the complaint is not attended within the time frame, an SMS will go to the higher official in the department," said Chandy's office.

Those calling from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) lines need to dial 1076 and those using other service providers have to dial 1800 425 1076. Those calling from abroad should dial 0471 1076. All three numbers are toll-free.