<p>The footpath was barely walkable. But, even as Abhay struggled, lugging his heavy bag on that stretch, a motorcyclist in great haste blocked his way. Pulling out his smartphone, Abhay clicked a snap in anger, posted it on Facebook and Twitter, promptly tagging the police.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The response was quick. A dedicated social media team at the traffic control room immediately took note, referring the complaint and picture to the nearest station. The vehicle’s registration number was now firmly on record for further action! <br /><br />Driven by such rare social media linked official activism, the Twitter account of Bengaluru Traffic Police (@blrcitytraffic) has garnered 74,200 followers over the years. Its Facebook page is on the radar of 3.52 lakh Bengalureans! Also active is its WhatsApp number, 7259100100, a dedicated line for commuters to report traffic congestions. <br /><br />Yet, despite this proven power of social media to link users and official agencies, the platform remains grossly underutilized by Bengaluru’s other critical civic departments. Agreed, the traffic police have a constant, daily connect with the public. But so do BBMP, BWSSB, BESCOM, albeit to a lesser extent.<br /><br />Marginal presence<br />On Facebook, the Palike’s official page has merely 3,340 likes! The BBMP commissioner’s page is marginally better with 4,771 people liking it. However, this has not emerged as a popular, structured forum for the public to register their complaints. They can only post the complaints as a response to the commissioner’s frequent posts on what the Palike does. <br /><br />But BBMP insists that it receives a flood of public problems linked to garbage not being picked up, lack of streetlights, bad roads and the pathetic state of footpaths. Yet, a closer look shows that a proper grievance redressal mechanism through the platform has not emerged. On his part, the Mayor Manjunath Reddy has been more proactive on Twitter, regularly tweeting on BBMP programmes. <br /><br />Special Commissioner, Finance, Kumar Pushkar says that all the problems highlighted on the Palike Commissioner’s page are sent to grievance cell or concerned officers. "Once the issue is addressed, a post is sent on the Commissioner's FB page stating that the problem is resolved,” he informs. <br /><br />In his analysis of multiple city civic agencies, Tinu Cherian, a social media activist with over 2.25 lakh Twitter followers, finds the Palike’s social media strategy relatively poor. “They are not very active. There is no structured mechanism for people to post complaints and get them redressed,” he points out.<br /><br />BWSSB’s absence<br />BWSSB too fares poorly on the social media front. Both its Facebook pages, created during 2011-12 have been inactive for long. There are hardly any posts informing the public about the Board. A few complaints are posted but there are no replies! A Twitter account (@bwssbchairman) carries just one message tweeted in 2012. The account has only 157 followers.<br /><br />Board Chairman T M Vijay Bhaskar acknowledges BWSSB’s lack of social media presence. “I have instructed an officer to create accounts in Facebook and Twitter to post BWSSB’s updates. We will do it. At present, we have deployed two staffers at the newly opened reception counter in Cauvery Bhavan to ensure the consumer’s grievances are heard through proper channels,” he says. <br /><br />Despite other online and offline avenues to post complaints, social media has clearly emerged as the easiest mode to lodge their grievances. “For lakhs of people in the IT sector, this platform is far simpler. Most people don’t even know what number to call if there is a problem. Facebook and Twitter are the easiest. Use these to share information both ways,” suggests Cherian.<br /><br />The benefits can be mutual. As Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, M A Saleem explains, social media has helped the police to be more alert and responsive. “Before, the police used to be aloof. Now, there is a change from a force concept to a service concept. It has also helped police get information much faster than earlier.” <br /><br /><br />(with inputs from Naveen Menezes, Nivedita Jain)</p>
<p>The footpath was barely walkable. But, even as Abhay struggled, lugging his heavy bag on that stretch, a motorcyclist in great haste blocked his way. Pulling out his smartphone, Abhay clicked a snap in anger, posted it on Facebook and Twitter, promptly tagging the police.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The response was quick. A dedicated social media team at the traffic control room immediately took note, referring the complaint and picture to the nearest station. The vehicle’s registration number was now firmly on record for further action! <br /><br />Driven by such rare social media linked official activism, the Twitter account of Bengaluru Traffic Police (@blrcitytraffic) has garnered 74,200 followers over the years. Its Facebook page is on the radar of 3.52 lakh Bengalureans! Also active is its WhatsApp number, 7259100100, a dedicated line for commuters to report traffic congestions. <br /><br />Yet, despite this proven power of social media to link users and official agencies, the platform remains grossly underutilized by Bengaluru’s other critical civic departments. Agreed, the traffic police have a constant, daily connect with the public. But so do BBMP, BWSSB, BESCOM, albeit to a lesser extent.<br /><br />Marginal presence<br />On Facebook, the Palike’s official page has merely 3,340 likes! The BBMP commissioner’s page is marginally better with 4,771 people liking it. However, this has not emerged as a popular, structured forum for the public to register their complaints. They can only post the complaints as a response to the commissioner’s frequent posts on what the Palike does. <br /><br />But BBMP insists that it receives a flood of public problems linked to garbage not being picked up, lack of streetlights, bad roads and the pathetic state of footpaths. Yet, a closer look shows that a proper grievance redressal mechanism through the platform has not emerged. On his part, the Mayor Manjunath Reddy has been more proactive on Twitter, regularly tweeting on BBMP programmes. <br /><br />Special Commissioner, Finance, Kumar Pushkar says that all the problems highlighted on the Palike Commissioner’s page are sent to grievance cell or concerned officers. "Once the issue is addressed, a post is sent on the Commissioner's FB page stating that the problem is resolved,” he informs. <br /><br />In his analysis of multiple city civic agencies, Tinu Cherian, a social media activist with over 2.25 lakh Twitter followers, finds the Palike’s social media strategy relatively poor. “They are not very active. There is no structured mechanism for people to post complaints and get them redressed,” he points out.<br /><br />BWSSB’s absence<br />BWSSB too fares poorly on the social media front. Both its Facebook pages, created during 2011-12 have been inactive for long. There are hardly any posts informing the public about the Board. A few complaints are posted but there are no replies! A Twitter account (@bwssbchairman) carries just one message tweeted in 2012. The account has only 157 followers.<br /><br />Board Chairman T M Vijay Bhaskar acknowledges BWSSB’s lack of social media presence. “I have instructed an officer to create accounts in Facebook and Twitter to post BWSSB’s updates. We will do it. At present, we have deployed two staffers at the newly opened reception counter in Cauvery Bhavan to ensure the consumer’s grievances are heard through proper channels,” he says. <br /><br />Despite other online and offline avenues to post complaints, social media has clearly emerged as the easiest mode to lodge their grievances. “For lakhs of people in the IT sector, this platform is far simpler. Most people don’t even know what number to call if there is a problem. Facebook and Twitter are the easiest. Use these to share information both ways,” suggests Cherian.<br /><br />The benefits can be mutual. As Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, M A Saleem explains, social media has helped the police to be more alert and responsive. “Before, the police used to be aloof. Now, there is a change from a force concept to a service concept. It has also helped police get information much faster than earlier.” <br /><br /><br />(with inputs from Naveen Menezes, Nivedita Jain)</p>