Page 209 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

At present, there is no formal system/single source in districts for the
citizens for obtaining information or registering complaints in respect of
service delivery by the government departments in general and the Deputy
Commissioner office in particular. A person in need might have to search for,
and dial, numerous telephone numbers before he finally finds the right one.
Even then, he might not encounter a receptive person on the other side of
the phone to provide the required information or to take questions and
complaints. There was thus dire need of establishing a helpline where trained
personnel could receive calls, take questions, provide information, and
register complaints. In fact, there shall be a standard phone number in the
entire province – if not the country – for such purposes. One must admit here
that the police department as well as the rescue services have already
achieved this uniformity where any citizen can reach them by dialing 15 and
1122 respectively. The civil administration, on the other hand, still lags
behind despite the fact that most of the services are provided by it, and
consequently is highly sought after. With this aim in view, the District
Administration Muzaffargarh decided to launch a helpline having following
features:

 The helpline was named as ‘Awaz-e-Khalq’ with reference to the
famous quotation:

وھجمس ادخ ہراقن وک قلخ زاوآ

 A short dialing code 1718 was acquired by special arrangements with
the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). It was easy to
remember and recall in Urdu as well as English.
 A call center, with multiple lines, and manned by trained and
knowledgeable receptionists, was established in DC office for the
purposes.
 The receptionists were supposed to greet every caller, introduce
themselves, take queries, provide required information, register
complaints, and finally give departing remarks.
 Amongst other information, the receptionists were also required to
provide information related to addresses, fee, documents, and other
prerequisites in respect of the services available at district level, and
were been trained for the same. The ultimate aim was to enable the
applicants to come prepared in all respects to the concerned office,
instead of wandering from pillar to post in order to get the required
service.
 In the longer run, it was planned, the helpline would not only be used
for the purposes of provision of information but also for the
registration of those complaints which could be best addressed at the
local level, for example a missing gutter top, non-display of price list
at a shop, food adulteration; and the like.

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