1913 helpline faces manpower shortage
Sources told DC that a proposal to increase the staff strength from 14 to 23 was turned down by corporation higher ups earlier this year
By : pradeep kumar
Update: 2015-11-19 06:03 GMT
Chennai: Among other infrastructural frailties that the northeast monsoon has exposed, the short staffed condition of Chennai Corporation’s 1913 helpline is one. With only 14 contractual staff manning the incessantly ringing phones at the Ripon Buildings complex, the corporation’s relief work has been hindered, leaving residents fuming over the delayed time of response to their urgent complaints.
Sources told DC that a proposal to increase the staff strength from 14 to 23 was turned down by corporation higher ups earlier this year. “It was decided that there was no urgent need to increase the strength because the number of calls received per day was not high enough. The decision was made in summer but the feeling is that no one anticipated the deluge in November,” the source said.
Interestingly, preparations were made to induct extra staff inside the 1913 room when the proposal was shot down. As a result, one can notice two empty rows in 1913 and the idle computers, all of which had been put in place in anticipation of the proposal being accepted.
Yet another issue highlighted by officials was the decision to hire a road contractor’s services to run what is essentially an IT-enabled support service. “The earlier contractor, whose forte was IT support and systems, was shown the door to hire contract staff supplied by a road contractor. The new contractor hardly visits 1913 to check if things are in order and never conducts training to educate his staff better,” said an official. However, senior officials maintained that 1913 was doing a relatively good job of handling the complaints but refused to comment any further.
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