6,000 Hello Sarkar complaints fall largely on deaf ears

KATHMANDU, Jan 1: While Hello Sarkar (hello government), also known as the 24 hour-control room, has received a total of 6,000 complaints over a period of one and half months, authorities at the key ministries are found to have turned a deaf ear to the complaints.

According to officials at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), some key ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW), Ministry of Women and Social Welfare (MoSW), Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Local Development, are found to have largely ignored the public complaints lodged through Hello Sarkar. [break]

Following the new policy concerning Hello Sarkar, the OPMCM officials have been posting the complaints on the portals of the ministries concerned for their timely attention and action. However, officials say the ministries have not even opened their portals.

"The ministries and some departments are found not to have been complying with instructions issued by the OPMCM to promptly sort out the public complaints. Complaints expressed by the public through Hello Sarkar and subsequently posted on the portals of the respective ministries have gone largely unheeded," admitted OPMCM Secretary Leela Mani Paudel, adding, "As a result, the trend of filing daily complaints at the control room has declined by half."

OPMCM Joint Secretary Shankar Adhikary, who has been overseeing day to day activities at Hello Sarkar, said the control room has been receiving 80 to 100 complaints every day. This is half the daily total that the control room used to receive in the initial days.

According to OPMMC officials, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Agriculture are, however, found to be sincerely addressing the public concerns lodged through Hello Sarkar.

Asked about possible action against ministries failing to comply with OPMCM instructions to address the complaints, a senior official said, "The OPMMC might take serious action against those ministries if Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai so orders."

Officials said Hello Sarkar has been receiving complaints on issues and problems affecting daily life. Currently, the control room has been receiving complaints about the fuel crunch that has pushed half the vehicles off the roads in and around Kathmandu Valley, making life difficult for commuters.

Before the fuel shortage, the public had lodged complaints concerning the government decision to recruit 3,000 Madhesis into the Nepal Army. "Most callers had demanded not to implement the decision, citing long-term ramifications," said an official referring anonymity.

And even before the government decision on Madhesi recruitment, people especially from the Tarai had complained about the cold wave that claimed over 32 lives.

OPMCM Secretary Paudel informed Republica that the government is mulling ways to run Hello Sarkar more effectively and constructively.

The Hello Sarkar hotline number 1111 has been busy round the clock.