‘Face to Face’ replaces ‘Talk to Mayor’:Kolkata residents can raise civic grievances through new helpline

The West Bengal government is launching a new toll-free public grievance helpline, ‘Mukhomukhi’, from Tuesday, allowing residents of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area to directly raise civic issues, complaints, and suggestions with Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul. New helpline launches for Kolkata residents The initiative comes after the resignation of former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and the dissolution of the elected Kolkata Municipal Corporation board. The state government has since appointed Smita Pandey as the administrator to oversee civic administration. According to officials, the ‘Mukhomukhi’ helpline will operate every Tuesday from 3 pm to 4 pm. The service will be available exclusively to residents within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area through the toll-free number 1800-203-5123. New initiative after Mayor board dissolution During the weekly interaction, the Municipal Affairs Minister will hear complaints related to civic services, infrastructure, sanitation and development, while relevant departments will be directed to take prompt action on the issues raised. A senior official at Nabanna said the initiative aims to ensure uninterrupted civic services despite the absence of an elected municipal board. Officials believe the programme will provide citizens with a direct communication channel to the government and help improve service delivery based on public feedback. Minister to hear civic service complaints The new initiative effectively replaces the earlier ‘Talk to Mayor’ programme introduced during Firhad Hakim’s tenure as mayor. Under that programme, the mayor interacted directly with citizens once a week to hear civic grievances and suggestions. The programme was suspended after the Assembly election schedule was announced and later discontinued following Hakim’s resignation. Government eyes elected board by December Government officials view ‘Mukhomukhi’ (Face to face) as the successor to the earlier initiative. The state government has said it expects to hand over the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to a newly elected board by December 7. Until then, the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department will continue to address citizens’ grievances through the new helpline and other administrative mechanisms. ​