This monsoon, tell BMC about potholes, flooding or tree falls in Mumbai on WhatsApp

Mumbai city news: The civic body will provide each ward office with a WhatsApp number

This monsoon, the BMC is giving you the chance to register your monsoon-related complaints on WhatsApp.

The number will be functional only during the monsoon season, said additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh. (File)

To up its game this monsoon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to release 24 WhatsApp numbers next week to solve citizens’ problems.

The civic body will provide each ward office with a WhatsApp number. The number will be attended to by a ward officer, who will then delegate the work. The number will be functional only during the monsoon season, said additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh.

At present, the BMC has a Twitter handle, potholes complaint application and a disaster control and complaint number where it registers complaints ranging from encroachments to illegal constructions. However, the civic body decided to release the 24 numbers for a better and quicker response. “We will not register complaints on Twitter. With the WhatsApp number, the system will be decentralised, quicker and will give a better response,” said the additional municipal commissioner.

Every year, the BMC also releases a helpline number. But it is usually inundated with calls during monsoon.

The BMC will also continue its ‘MCGM 24x7’ application for pothole complaints, where citizens can capture the longitude and latitude of the pothole’s location and upload a photograph. The BMC started a pothole-tracking website in 2011. Once the complaint is registered, the official concerned will have to approach the contractor to fix the pothole within 48 hours or face a penalty. Officials said the mobile application will also follow a similar procedure.