Udhampur: The Udhampur Municipal Council has adopted a corporate culture to address the issues and complaints of the local residents, ensuring that they do not have to visit the council office for minor issues. The council has set up a call centre where a dedicated employee receives calls from the public, registers complaints, and forwards them to the officials concerned.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Rajinder Digra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Udhampur Municipal Council, explained that after taking charge a couple of weeks ago, he wanted to streamline the process so that people could easily access the services they needed.
“I thought of establishing a call centre and discussed it with the Deputy Commissioner of Udhampur, Saloni Rai, who gave the go-ahead. An employee of the council was tasked with receiving calls, registering complaints, and forwarding them to the officials for resolution,” Digra said.
The Udhampur Municipal Council covers a seven-kilometre radius, serving more than 1.50 lakh people across 21 wards. Additionally, more than 50,000 people from other parts of the district regularly visit the district headquarters. The headquarters of the Northern Command of the Indian Army is also located outside the council limits, and military officers and soldiers frequently visit the area.
“Addressing the issues of the people is not an easy task, and I used to receive dozens of calls regarding minor issues. The call centre addresses concerns such as garbage clearance, drain blockages, stray animals, traffic congestion, door-to-door garbage collection, building permissions, and more. Minor issues are resolved within 24 hours, while major issues take up to 48 hours,” the CEO added.
Founded in 1972 as a Town Area Committee, the Udhampur Municipal Council was later converted into a municipal committee and, in 2012, became a municipal council. Urban areas in Jammu and Kashmir are managed by Municipal Corporations, Councils, and Committees.
While Jammu and Srinagar are run by Municipal Corporations, and overseen by elected Mayors, other urban areas are managed by municipal councils and committees. The six municipal councils in Jammu and Kashmir are Baramulla, Sopore, Anantnag, Poonch, Kathua, and Udhampur. Other urban areas are governed by municipal committees responsible for development and issue resolution within their limits.
“This initiative is perhaps the first of its kind in a municipal council in Jammu and Kashmir, where complaints are not only registered but action is ensured, and feedback is also sought from the complainants,” Digra added.
