The Hindu Business Line : IT-enabled help desks at Secretariat

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 20 Visitors descending on the Government Secretariat here for transacting personal business would now have to approach three help desks at the gates before being allowed entry into the corridors of power.

Connected to the Secretariat-wide information system, the help desks at these gateways feature the best that IT has to offer in terms of connecting and archiving.

GROOMED STAFF

The specially-trained staff would hand over system-generated passes to visitors and guide them to the desired departments and officials for transacting business.

The help desks open at 9.30 a.m. and work non-stop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, entry into the Secretariat is limited to between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Petitions from visitors would be received at the Help Desk itself and each would be allotted a system-generated registration number for follow-up action.

The petition document (of up to three pages) would be scanned on the spot and made available online immediately to the official concerned. The petitioner would be photographed, and the photo would be incorporated while setting up his file.

Each visitor will be videographed in case future references are needed, from a security point of view.

The petitioner can get to know the status of the complaint and follow-up from the touch screen provided at the help desk or the kiosk. He needs to just feed the petition register number for this.

The staff manning the help desk have been directed to submit the originals of the petitions to the concerned officials by 5 p.m. every evening.