Madhura Karekar, the only BMC complaint officer who uses social media to address civic issues, is solving a dozen cases a day
Madhura Karekar became the complaint officer of H/West ward in May 2016
Madhura Karekar, complaint officer of the H/West ward, joined Twitter three months ago to ensure speedy redressal of civic grievances. Since then, her Twitter handle (@MadhuraKarekar) has been flooded with pictures sent by residents, directing her attention to various civic issues, including potholes, water leakages and littering, among others.
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She doesn't shirk any request, solving most cases within 24 hours flat. Impressed with her work, the Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF) will be awarding her a certificate for bridging the trust deficit between citizens and the municipality.
Karekar was first appointed the complaint officer of the ward in May 2016. She, however, didn't take to social media until December last year. The BSc graduate shares, "I asked my 15-year-old daughter to teach me how to create a Twitter account, but she did not want to go through the pain of explaining all the details to her non-millennial mother. So, I sought the help from our junior engineer. The aim was to immediately address grievances, that are otherwise reported on phone calls, which generally take a longer time to be resolved."
The 48-year-old officer is often seen attending multiple phone calls of citizens, while also browsing on her Twitter account from inside her office, located on Saint Martin's Road in Bandra West. Most grievances, she says, are regarding solid waste management (SWM) from areas under the H/West ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which include Bandra West, Khar West and Santacruz West. Every issue that is tweeted to her, immediately goes to the head of departments concerned. Speedy redressal is always guaranteed.
When Karekar took charge in 2016, about 50 complaints were pending with the ward office. Today, she says, the number of complaints reported every day via phone calls has reduced to two. "On Twitter, we get about 20 complaints, of which most are solved within 24 hours. If some issues overshoot the deadline, I put out a 'work-in-progress' post," she adds.
Her efforts were recently recognised by MNCDF. Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, founder of the fourm that takes up civic issues to elected representatives, says, "We have started an initiative of handing out certificates to government officers who help solve people's problems. Of the total 24 complaint officers across the city, Karekar is the only one who uses Twitter to cater to important issues. Earlier, I would have to call the ward's assistant commissioner with a complaint, which would then go down the hierarchy. This would delay the whole process. Quite recently, we started corresponding with Karekar through WhatsApp. But her signing up on Twitter seemed a better option."
Talking about a recent incident involving a bike accident on Dr Ambedkar Road in Khar West, Karnani says, "Earlier this week, a bike met with a minor crash due to a pothole. I reported this to Karekar. To my surprise, I saw the maintenance team at the site the next day." Karekar feels she is only doing her job diligently. "My role, honestly, is only of a postman's. But I recommend all officers use social media."
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