A fair moved into the open ground 3 blocks from our apartment complex. Our understanding was that they'd leave in a fortnight. Not only did they stay, they played very loud music (on a loud speaker) all the way till 10:30pm.. FOR A MONTH.
People at home started to get irritable in the evenings because there was no room in the house that the noise did not pervade. Everyone being Indian here also meant there was also a lot of whining, complaining & negativity about the loud music everyday (with no initiative being taken about solving the problem). I knew I had to do something when my old father started to hum 'Sheila ki jawani' (one of the songs repeated 10 times a day on the fair ground loud-speaker) in a very out-of-tune manner.
10pm the next day I called the local police precinct and informed the officer (operator) that we were having a huge noise pollution problem because of a neighboring fair. He asked my name & I told him. I asked if they would keep it confidential & he said they would. He then asked me the address of the location where the sound was emanating from & I gave it to him. I was very polite all the way through & addressed him as 'sir'. Once he had all the details he'd asked, for he said he would inform a patrol officer about the problem. I thanked him and hung up. 20 minutes later they cut the music. It was that simple. The next day the music started up again but I didn't wait for it to be 10pm. I placed pretty much the same complaint, supplied pretty much the same information and got pretty much the same response. Once again - 20 minutes later they cut the music. The key word I used was "loud speaker" which apparently is grounds for immediate action.
My advice to those that suffer from noise pollution:
1. Call the local Police Control Room (justdial or the yellow pages will have this info).
2. Find out the phone number of your local police precinct (chowki) from the Police Control Room.
3. Call your local police precinct (chowki) and inform them of the problem.
5. Be sure you have the address of the 'problem location'. The police will not go by general directions and they are not authorised to act on their own.
6. If the problem persists, go to the police station in person & lodge a complaint. At least you'll have something to go by if you later have to invoke the RTI act.
7. Be polite to the police officers you talk to. They make it a point to ignore the rude.
And above all: Ask and ye shall receive!
I was extremely impressed at the speed with which the Ramwadi Police Station in Pune acted on my behest. Not even the local council in London (where I lived for some years) moved that quickly when called about noise issues!
Showing posts with label complaint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label complaint. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Friday, December 24, 2010
My first RTI form and a kind, internet savvy lawyer. The journal continues.
Night 4 and the dogs are howling full force. My eyes are blood shot from lack of sleep and my breathing is strained. Needless to say, I'm awake. The heavy duty Bose headphones I'm wearing aren't doing much to keep the noise out. I'm sure most poor Indians can't afford these in the first place.
I'm up at 6 o'clock reading up on all on-going RTI classes in Pune and come across something at YASHDA at Baner Road. I find the contact information of one of the instructors and call him. He's a lawyer and his profile says he has extensive experience in the realm of RTI. "Please," I say, "I have to get into this class". I tell him about the problem with noisy stray dogs in my area and also tell him that I'm a willing learner and want to resolve the problem within the law. I'm obviously incredibly persuasive because he says I'm in. An hour later he sends me some very helpful information on the RTI (see the end of this post for the links and what they are about).
I wasn't lying to him when I said I was very motivated to do something about this. I read up on the material he sent me & here's what I did next:
1. I go to the Pune Municipal Corporation website & lodge a complaint under the "Health - Main Building" department and choose "stray dogs nuisance" as the topic. Here's the link to the complaint URL http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx
My complaint explicitly states that stray dogs have been keeping me awake for weeks and the dog-squad refuses to do anything about the dogs if they've already been neutered. I give them my details & the address of the problem areas. I request them to solve the problem. I submit the request, print the confirmation & save my complaint number.
2. I go to the Xerox shops near the Zilla Parishad in Pune and buy myself a few RTI forms and Rs.10 court stamps. RTI forms are also called "maahitichey adhikaar forms" so don't be surprised if you get blank looks when you say "RTI forms". Unfortunately it's not easy to get the ones printed in English (thank God I took Marathi as a second language in school!)
3. I fill out the form in Marathi, attach my questions to the PIO, Department of Health, PMC in Marathi (translation services are available in Pune but I used my mother's fantastic Marathi/English skills to get my questions translated). Please make sure your questions are very specific and focused (see end of this post for guidelines on writing these questions). If you ramble, are unclear or address various departments in one form, your request for information might be rejected. Keep the questions to a maximum of 5 and one department per form. Once you've completed the form, make a photocopy - the PMC official will need to stamp & date this as proof that you've submitted an RTI request. I will be posting a copy of my questions & the answer I receive (or don't receive) once I get them.
4. I go to the PMC main building in Pune, find the Health Department official on the 3rd floor (not easy, you have to ask around). None of the doors have 'PIO' (Public Information Officer) written on them.
5. I leave with the stamped "proof" and was told that they would contact me within 30 days to tell me the total cost of the request. I would need to pick it up in person.
An RTI form is not a complaint form. Don't seek accountability through it, only answers to specific questions. If you don't know how, seek out the help of an RTI volunteer in your area.
More later...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
External links:
-A Handbook on RTI, 2005. Under GoI-UNDP Project on capacity building on access to information (great, simple to understand information).
-Guidelines on how to write an effective RTI application http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/jps50/93-how-make-rti-application-effective.html
-Public Commission of Inquiry (Pune) complaint form (this is not an RTI form) https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEo2ZkpmTmhxTDNROTRwdkZSdUpBM0E6MQ
- PMC complaint portal http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx (remember to save your confirmation number).
I'm up at 6 o'clock reading up on all on-going RTI classes in Pune and come across something at YASHDA at Baner Road. I find the contact information of one of the instructors and call him. He's a lawyer and his profile says he has extensive experience in the realm of RTI. "Please," I say, "I have to get into this class". I tell him about the problem with noisy stray dogs in my area and also tell him that I'm a willing learner and want to resolve the problem within the law. I'm obviously incredibly persuasive because he says I'm in. An hour later he sends me some very helpful information on the RTI (see the end of this post for the links and what they are about).
I wasn't lying to him when I said I was very motivated to do something about this. I read up on the material he sent me & here's what I did next:
1. I go to the Pune Municipal Corporation website & lodge a complaint under the "Health - Main Building" department and choose "stray dogs nuisance" as the topic. Here's the link to the complaint URL http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx
My complaint explicitly states that stray dogs have been keeping me awake for weeks and the dog-squad refuses to do anything about the dogs if they've already been neutered. I give them my details & the address of the problem areas. I request them to solve the problem. I submit the request, print the confirmation & save my complaint number.
2. I go to the Xerox shops near the Zilla Parishad in Pune and buy myself a few RTI forms and Rs.10 court stamps. RTI forms are also called "maahitichey adhikaar forms" so don't be surprised if you get blank looks when you say "RTI forms". Unfortunately it's not easy to get the ones printed in English (thank God I took Marathi as a second language in school!)
3. I fill out the form in Marathi, attach my questions to the PIO, Department of Health, PMC in Marathi (translation services are available in Pune but I used my mother's fantastic Marathi/English skills to get my questions translated). Please make sure your questions are very specific and focused (see end of this post for guidelines on writing these questions). If you ramble, are unclear or address various departments in one form, your request for information might be rejected. Keep the questions to a maximum of 5 and one department per form. Once you've completed the form, make a photocopy - the PMC official will need to stamp & date this as proof that you've submitted an RTI request. I will be posting a copy of my questions & the answer I receive (or don't receive) once I get them.
4. I go to the PMC main building in Pune, find the Health Department official on the 3rd floor (not easy, you have to ask around). None of the doors have 'PIO' (Public Information Officer) written on them.
5. I leave with the stamped "proof" and was told that they would contact me within 30 days to tell me the total cost of the request. I would need to pick it up in person.
An RTI form is not a complaint form. Don't seek accountability through it, only answers to specific questions. If you don't know how, seek out the help of an RTI volunteer in your area.
More later...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
External links:
-A Handbook on RTI, 2005. Under GoI-UNDP Project on capacity building on access to information (great, simple to understand information).
-Guidelines on how to write an effective RTI application http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/jps50/93-how-make-rti-application-effective.html
-Public Commission of Inquiry (Pune) complaint form (this is not an RTI form) https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEo2ZkpmTmhxTDNROTRwdkZSdUpBM0E6MQ
- PMC complaint portal http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx (remember to save your confirmation number).
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