The BWSSB seems to have really got its act together. As part of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force they’ve made some sweeping changes to attend to the customer’s needs better. More attention is being paid to monitoring water supply connection for new and existing users. Leaks of water supply lines, sanitary overflow, maintenance borewells and customer coordination are also being paid close attention to. It has now become common practice to supply water on alternate days given the topography of the region. There seem to be much less complaints received this way.

They’re also making sure that people with unauthorized connections are disconnected. There were 46,000 unauthorised connections out of which 27,00 have been regularized, 10,900 disconnected and the remaining 7400 connections will either be regularized or disconnected. The board is also maintaining 26 water supply lorries that supply water to areas of complaint. They charge a nominal fee of Rs. 275 per 9000 liters. To supplement the water supply in thickly populated areas, the Board is maintaining 6000 borewells with hand pumps and 750 bore wells with electrical pumps. An additional 120 borewells have been drilled during 1999-2000. The Board is also maintaining public water taps for supplying water to the less fortunate in slums, corporation colonies etc. After all, the trickle-down effect must apply to water supply as well.

They’re also digging deep below the surface. Corroded pipes in the city are being replaced in a phased manner, under Governement grants. A program has also been introduced to replace old low efficiency pumps with new, higher efficiency pumps. Laying of various water supply feeder lines have been taken up to improve the distribution of water supply feeder lines.

Consistent with it’s new image of reaching out to customers, the BWSSB has introduced Citizen Friendly Measures. For example, 13 new cash counters have been opened to make it easier for users to pay up. Simple and transparent procedures have been adopted for sanction of new water and sanitary connections. The response time is one week. Preventive maintenance has been strengthened by acquiring nine additional sewer cleaning machines. Citizen’s education and involvement are being targeted through display boards. Also, 10,000 defective meters have been replaced. Computerisation of revenue billing has been initiated with successful introduction in one sub division. Other areas will also be covered.

It is evident from this that the BWSSB has become more professional in its dealings with customers. It has also become more interactive. It remains to be seen whether these measures can trickle down to the people and help them achieve a higher and more hygienic standard of living. We have all heard that water seeks its own level. Now it is the level of expectation that every citizen of Bangalore has to improve their lives. Let’s take it one day at a time and keep rising.

The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited  (KPTCL) is part of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force. Over the last six months there has been tremendous activity to fulfill their goals. These are to strengthen the infrastructure, to improve the system, use IT for improving efficiency and be more customer friendly. Gone are the days when you had to wait for months for an electricity connection. It has now been learned that in order to be effective one has to turn to the most important resource, the customer.

The Customer Charter, a handbook that is ready for release, outlines this new strategy. It sets time standards for all customer services. For example, if you need electricity of a load of upto 1 KW it states clearly that the waiting period is 25days (Urban) and 30 days (Rural). Also, if you need to modify your existing connection then they set a time standard for this as well. They have also made a note of each type of complaint and inform us as to how we should go about doing it and by what time we will get a reply to this complaint. For example, if there is a fuse failure in the meter board it states clearly that the fault will be rectified within 24 hours of the complaint being given.

The KPTCL also puts aside the first Monday of every month as Customer Service Day in all Sub-Division and Division Offices in the Bangalore Metropolitan Area Zone to begin with. All complaints and personal grievances can be lodged then. There is also a Black Box system where customers can lodge complaints against corrupt officials. You can also complain about power theft here and you don’t have to worry about confidentiality because your name will be withheld. No more hold-ups because one guy is asking to be paid-off to do his job.

The KPTCL has also reintroduced Soujanya counters in all sub-divisions of Bangalore city. It deals exclusively with customer complaints like billing errors, change of tarrif, transfer of installations and other power supply related grievances. There is also an Electronic Clearance Service initiated for payment of electricity bills through customer bank accounts. It has been implemented in 16 Sub-Divisions in Bangalore City and 3398 customers have availed the scheme by the end of June 200. More than Rs. 20 Lakhs are being collected every month this way. It is planned to extend the scheme to all the Sub-Divisions in the city as well.

In theory this is all very impressive and the basic framework is very satisfying for the customer. It remains to be seen, however if the KPTCL can deliver on its promises or if Customer Service day is going to be a fish market and the black box overflowing. It will take a lot of hard work, patience and perseverance on the part of KPTCL and K.E.B to deliver. Also, something has to be done about the flow of electricity so that the use of UPSs and voltage stabilizers can be minimized. Old operational equipments/systems need to be refurbished in order to reduce interruptions. This is also being worked on and we should see less and less power cuts. We are certainly seeing more power being given to the people. Use it wisely.