Bhubaneswar: The civic body's decision to hold public meetings to address civic grievances has been met with disdain and sarcasm by residents of the state capital.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has divided the city into six circles and 12 zones for easy grievance redress. It will organise public meetings twice a month - on the first and sixteenth day. The first such meeting will be held on December 16.

However, a reality check by The Telegraph revealed that people were not interested in such mechanisms; they would prefer strengthening online services. "This is not a village where you will have time to attend such palli sabhas. Civic issues are many and so are the grievances. There should be efforts to strengthen the online services instead," said Saheed Nagar resident Nityananda Jena.

The civic body wants to gather people and address their grievances regarding road, drains, and street lights, but it is yet to resolve complaints they get through the My City, My Pride website and application that was launched in 2015 to serve the same purpose.

Bichitrananda Kampa, an app user, wrote in the reviews: "App not working properly. I am unable to register my mobile number, no activation code received. While it logged in using my fb (Facebook) account but the info were incorrect even my mobile number and address and when I tried correcting profile it again redirected to the phone registration page and I stucked ( sic) where I've started from. Please take care."

The website mycitymypride.org, however, remains elusive. "I lodged a complaint regarding a street light in my area. It was repaired after seven days. Now, it has stopped functioning again. I tried to file another complaint using the website, but the web page was not available," said Sailashree Vihar resident Narayan Ojha.

The civic body's other tool to receive grievances or suggestions - complaint boxes across the city - is the most ignored. Some are in a dilapidated state or haven't been opened in years.

"The administration's attitude changed after the city was adjudged the best smart city. I am unable to see any visible transformation, but the problems are propelling and there are no solutions," said corporate employee Chinmayee Hota.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they were working to strengthen the online system. He said they also wanted to reach the core problems and decided to hold such meetings. "Top officials will be involved and I hope more people would be able to air their grievances," he said.