The Hindu Business Line : `Parishkaram' bridges digital divide

MR V. SATYANARAYANA of Attili in West Godavari knew nothing about words like information technology or IT-enabled services till recently. Nor did he hear about a thing like call centre till someone told him to make a call to `Parishkaram', a helpline set up by the State Government, to help him in solving a personal crisis.

He wanted to know how he could bring back the body of his wife who died in Kuwait on July 30. A call from him triggered a chain reaction that made several Government agencies to work in tandem.

Surya Kumari, who went to the Gulf on a maid visa, died there in a traffic accident. Mr Satyanarayana was informed about the incident three days later. There was little he could do to retrieve the body. Waiting for it a full month, he approached the call centre.

After getting the call, the call centre officials informed the Director of Electronically Deliverable Services (EDC), formerly e-Seva, which in turn alerted the General Administration and IT and Communications Departments.

Acting on the plea, the Chief Secretary, Mr Mohan Kanda, wrote to the Foreign Secretary seeking his involvement in addressing the problem. The Foreign Secretary duly asked the Indian Embassy in Kuwait to make arrangements for transporting the body of the deceased to Andhra Pradesh.

The Embassy sent the body through Air India cargo to Hyderabad and was handed over to the husband on the early hours of November 12.

Mr Satyanarayana's agony, however, was far from over, as he had no money to take the body to his native place. He went back to Parishkaram for help. The EDC Director readily agreed to help him out by releasing funds. An ambulance was booked and the body finally reached the village.

Relating the incident at a press release, Mr R.P. Sisodia, EDC Director, said the call centre (1100) had come of age since its launch in July 2003. "We have processed 3,22,941 calls at Parishkaram. Of this, 2,55,827 were related to seeking information on a variety of issues," he said.

When the helpline was launched, its scope was more or less restricted to agriculture. Its scope has been extended significantly since then. "It now covers 25 major departments. The number of seats has been increased to 30 from 10 to take the extra rush," he said.

People could seek information on various schemes, services, notifications for recruitment, admissions, results and more importantly any information related to health.

"We have got 67,114 department-specific queries and grievances, 88 per cent of which were resolved," he said.

On average, the helpline receives 1,142 calls every day.

More Stories on : E-Governance | Andhra Pradesh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
PM sets the real pace

Testing times ahead for Bush in second term

Tribal power

`Parishkaram' bridges digital divide