Mumbai: Noting the increasing number of suicide attempts and gatherings outside Mantralaya, the government on Wednesday issued a circular asking departments to display outside offices the days and time when citizens can come with their problems.
Every day, thousands of citizens visits Mantralaya for personal work. Many are forced to return over and over. Officers and ministers often don’t get time to meet people. This forces some people to take the extreme step of attempting suicide outside Mantralaya.
Two women attempted suicide in front of Mantralaya on Monday, 1 dead
On Monday two women, Sheetal Gadekar, from Pune, and Sangeeta Dhaware, from Navi Mumbai, consumed poison outside the assembly. The two were taken to JJ Hospital, where Gadekar died; Dhaware’s condition is still critical.
In 2010, 2013 and 2016 the government had issued circulars directing ministers of state, Mantralaya officials, and zonal officers to fix at least one day a week or month for visitors.
Ministers asked to set aside one day to solve visitor's problems
Wednesday’s circular stated that cabinet ministers and ministers of state should consider their scope of work and set aside one day a week, fortnight or month for visitors. The circular said the day and time of such meetings must be displayed outside their cabins. Mantralaya officers should meet petitioners between 3pm and 4pm on a daily basis, it said.
At the zonal level, officers should keep two days a week for visitors and fix time in the afternoon as per their convenience, the circular said. Zonal officers should prepare their official tours in a way that visitor timing is not affected, it said. If the officers have to go on tour, then they should make alternate arrangements for visitors, it said.
Offices under Mantralaya administration asked to mantain register
The circular also stated that all offices that comes under Mantralaya administration, like the BMC, corporations, nagar parishad, district collector and zonal offices should maintain a register of visitors and make arrangements for visitor passes.
