Odisha's WhatsApp Helpline Provides Citizens With Verified Information On COVID And Vaccination

Verified information and available resources were the two most critical requirements during the severity of the second wave of COVID-19 in India. And so, getting these across to citizens was a priority for municipal authorities, state police, and state governments across India. Just like other states across the nation, Odisha was facing the same issue, until they found a solution. 

The state launched Odisha Government COVID WhatsApp Helpline to provide citizens access to a host of medical services, verified information, COVID updates, mask-wearing protocols, and now also vaccination slots.

For the vaccination drive for IT professionals in Bhubaneswar, the slots were booked through the helpline. Tusharkanti Behera, Minister of State, E & IT, Sports and Youth Services, Odisha Government tells NDTV,

WhatsApp emerged as a great channel to ensure that we are able to reach out to the maximum number of people in the state, through an easy and widely popular platform. Therefore, we launched a unique chatbot that has served over 2 million citizens to date.

The revamped Odisha Government WhatsApp dashboard was launched on May 31st and is now playing a key role in citizen engagement in unique ways. Mr Behera explains, 

We are now looking for this solution to achieve multiple governance objectives. For example, we have recently created a dedicated channel on WhatsApp to receive grievances from the public which is then forwarded to the relevant department for prompt resolution. This new way of grievance handling is unique in the country, and sooner we will launch it in the state.

WhatsApp has proved to be a useful platform for citizens to engage with the government at a time when it is most needed, and well beyond the pandemic as well.