The floods in Kerala and Kodagu have set off a humanitarian disaster. At the same time, they brought out the best in humanity, with people everywhere extending a helping hand.
The chief ministers of Karnataka and Kerala have set up relief funds to collect contributions from people far and wide. But how easy is it to donate money through the government portals? Metrolife does a comparative analysis.
Karnataka
(www.karnataka.gov.in)
The Karnataka government’s portal does not make any request for donations for Kodagu. It features a number of links on the homepage but not even one goes to a page with details about the floods and the relief. We tried searching with keywords ‘Kodagu’, ‘relief fund’ and ‘flood’. We got the same error message: ‘Sorry, something went wrong.’ There is nothing to guide us on how to contribute.
Kerala
(kerala.gov.in)
The first thing you see when you go to this site is the donation option to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. The site gives the fund a prominent place.
Contributors are offered multiple options: mobile apps such as Bhim and PayTM, cheques, and Net banking through SBI.
An online donation form is followed by an impressive list of 12 payment gateway options. You can scroll down to FAQs and see how the fund is completely transparent.
On the top right, you see a tab called ‘Statistics’ giving you an easy-to-understand breakdown of amounts received till date.
User experience
N Prabhakar, techie living in BTM Layout, tried to contribute to the two sites, and found a world of difference. He says the Karnataka site isn’t responding to something people across the state are concerned about. “They posted some link on Twitter but how many people check Twitter? The tweet will get lost anyway,” he told Metrolife.
Prabhakar found the Kerala government’s website user-friendly. “The transparency they showcase is commendable. They have given an account of every rupee received so far,” he says.
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