Chennai: About 200 staff at Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) bridge the gap between residents with complaints and the officials concerned. ICCC went live in Dec 2020 and served as a COVID war room. It is now linked with 16 GCC departments. Complaints are received via the 1913 helpline, Namma Chennai app, GCC web portal and social media.
A live display shows civic data, rain forecasts and camera feeds of roads, subways and canals.
By Thursday noon, the centre had received 730 complaints, attended 1,200 calls and deployed additional staff for monsoon-related complaints.
“We get 2,000 calls on average daily on the helpline and hundreds of complaints over X, Instagram and Facebook,” said a GCC official. “We work round the clock and monitor CCTV visuals to alert field staff about vulnerable areas,” she said. Complaints meant for Metrowater or TNEB are passed on to them,” an official said. GCC commissioner G S Sameeran said, “We call complainants for feedback.
“Complaints related to water stagnation, fallen trees and dysfunctional street lights are prioritised. Residents fear misuse of generative AI to close complaints without fixing the problem. If the issue is not resolved, the public will raise it again. Misuse of AI is unlikely.”