Kolkata: To tackle several complaints on different civic issues on the ‘Mukho Mukhi’ redress platform, a grievance cell will be introduced and a nodal officer will be appointed for all the municipal corporations and urban local bodies to take and register complaints on a regular basis, state urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul announced on Tuesday.Paul said that the grievance cells of the civic bodies will operate daily from 10 am to 6 pm to listen to citizens’ grievances and complaints for possible solutions on a day-to-day basis.“We are receiving many calls during the programme. We try to take as many calls as possible within the stipulated one-hour time. The response is very good. We are planning to introduce a grievance cell and appoint an officer in each of the municipal corporations and urban local bodies. The grievance cell will operate from 10 am to 6 pm daily. The nodal officer will resolve the complaints at the earliest. This will help to reduce the pressure on the ‘Mukho Mukhi’ programme,” Paul said.The ‘Mukho Mukhi’ programme was held for the Howrah Municipal Corporation area on Tuesday, in which most complaints came on issues related to waterlogging. Paul said a master plan will be prepared to come up with a solution to Howrah’s long-pending waterlogging woes.“Most calls that we received on Howrah were on waterlogging issues. Most of the callers were facing the same problem of water accumulation. There are some places that stay inundated for four to five days. We are preparing a master plan for Howrah to come up with a solution to this issue. As of now, the drains will be dredged with the help of motorable pumps,” Paul said.The minister also urged citizens to keep the ponds and vacant land in front of or at the back of their houses clean, or else the authorities will impose fines.
