Mangalore: Jun (pronounced “hoon”), a small town in Spain hit international headlines for using Twitter as its principal medium to run the municipal administration.
Nearer home, we have a similar story of digital innovation.
Goli Thottu, a small Gram Panchayat near Mangalore in Karnataka, has begun efforts to bring interaction between villagers and administration on a WhatsApp platform.
To put an end to personal visits to the Panchayat office, and to make it a paperless office, Panchayat Development Officer Tirupati T Uppar has created a WhatsApp group and added 1,850 families residing within the Panchayat limits.
“We started with just 35 to 40 families and asked them to add others. In turn they asked the others to add the remaining families. We are hoping to add all 1,850 families soon,” he says.
All public notices and information on various government schemes will be shared via WhatsApp, Tirupathi adds.
Villagers can also share their grievances, such as issues related to water supply, power supply or flooded areas, on the WhatsApp group.
Even personal issues, such as health and security, can be intimated on the WhatsApp group, and the administration assures their concerns will be answered immediately.
“All 1,850 families have smartphones and Internet connection is good. It has made our job much easier,” says Babu Naik, bill collector at the Gram Panchayat office. Sadhu Shetty, a villager, the initiative is welcome and has come as a boon for the people. “We are really enjoying it,” he adds.
When asked "Do they know anything about Jun?" Gram Panchayat officials say that they don’t even know where it is.
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