• A street in Bariatu, which had remained in the dark for a year, came to light within days of a complaint being lodged with Janseva

• A stretch of Hatia-Tupudana road, which got streetlights last year but had no uninterrupted power supply, glowed after sundown as soon as the problem was WhatsApped to Janseva

• Garbage gripes of a residential colony on Kanke Road was addressed in a jiffy once Janseva was contacted

Janseva - the online grievance redress forum launched by state urban development minister and Ranchi MLA C.P. Singh in October last year - is slowly and steadily making its presence felt among capital residents.

Statistics made available by the redress cell show that 1,524 complaints were registered through calls, SMS, web and WhatsApp between October 2015 and September 6, 2016. Of these, 1,247 have been resolved. The remaining 277 are in various stages of being resolved. Most of these pending cases are related to issues like construction of roads and improving drainage, which are time-taking projects.

The aam aadmi is evidently swearing by Janseva.

"We had approached the RMC umpteen times over the past year, but streetlights never glowed in our area for the silly reason that there were no bulbs attached to the poles. Last week, we sent a WhatsApp to Janseva. Lo and behold! We feel enlightened now," said Bariatu resident Manish Kumar.

Pankaj Singh of Hatia couldn't agree more.

"The Hatia-Tupudana road got streetlights last year, but power pangs continued. On July 21, the problem was resolved after we posted a picture to Janseva on WhatsApp," Singh said.

Saikat Majumder, a resident of Adarsh Nagar on Kanke Road, said their colony got rid of both garbage and encroachment on September 2 after the matters were reported to Janseva. "Cleanliness is a basic thing that the RMC is supposed to provide us in lieu of taxes. But, we kept complaining in vain until Janseva stepped in," Majumder said.

For those still not in the know, Janseva can be availed of by calling or sending texts to 9570444411 between 10am and 5pm from Monday to Saturday or by logging in to www.CPSinghmla.com to report civic woes. One can check the status of one's complaint through a unique ID. In case one isn't satisfied with the action taken, a complaint can be registered again with reference to the earlier gripe.

Biplab Datta, personal assistant to MLA Singh and one who closely co-ordinates between the Janseva cell and 31 government departments in Ranchi, said they were working on means to popularise the service. He said that though the portal is meant for civic problems, other issues could be handled too if urgent.

"For instance, a few days ago, we got a call about an abandoned and ailing woman at ITI bus stand. We sent a team and admitted her to RIMS. She is doing fine now," Datta said.

According to the official, Janseva's success rate is over 80 per cent, but increased awareness about the portal is needed. "We are planning a publicity campaign for the not-so-technology-friendly citizens. It is better to file a gripe online or just text instead of running after officials," Datta said, adding that slowly they might extend the service to other cities.

Share your Janseva experiences with us at ttkhand@abpmail.com