Selvam Velmurugan, an Internet technologist with more than 12 years of experience in building and managing web-scale systems founded eMoksha, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation to enable stronger democracies by building citizen awareness using technology.
Sometime ago, Velmurugan met up with Sunil Abraham, executive director Centre for Internet and Society at the Mysore TED conference. After which, eMoksha launched its India specific portal, Kiirti in April this year.
Kiirti means report and reputation in Sanskrit says the home page of kiirti.org. Sudha Nair, project manager Kiirti describes it as a “platform meant to enable effective governance using cutting-edge open-source Internet and mobile technologies”.
Their mission aligns with the need to provide better transparency and quick reactions to the complaints filed by citizens. Nair says, “Kiirti enables citizens to easily complaint, view and discuss issues on a web hosted platform.”
Any citizen interested in creating awareness about an issue can use Kiirti as a forum to bring together like-minded people to support the cause. For instance, Leo Saldanha, coordinator Environment Support Group uses the portal for — environmental and social justice issues. Environmentsupportgroup.kiirti.org encourages people to report falling trees and such. Chennai-based, Vijay Anand addresses corruption with fiftpillar.kiirti.org.
Recently, a citizen approached Kiirti to do something with regard to the menace that auto-rickshaws have become in the city. Thus was born, the Bangalore Auto (bangaloreauto.kiirti.org). Elaborating on what the Bangalore Auto is attempting, Nair says, “We recognise the struggle the transport department is facing to bring 85,000 autos under control. Also on the rise are complaints against auto drivers (excess fares, cheating commuters with faulty meters and harassing citizens for extra money).”
There are numerous such grievances but citizens are groping in the dark about the complaints they make to the transport department. “So, now with bangaloreauto.kiirti.org, the complaints filed will be displayed on our Website for public view, thereby instilling a sense of accountability among auto drivers,” Nair explains.
Nevertheless, Nair stresses that the idea is not meant to target a group but to co-exist. “Auto drivers, too, are equally harassed. Low income, high fuel prices, bad roads and chaotic traffic to traverse everyday,” she says.
Nair just got off a meeting with transport commissioner Bhaskar Rao, and Rao she says “was extremely cooperative and is willing to have Kiirti bring auto drivers, RTO and the traffic police together to make things better.”
There are umpteen such concerns that can go viral on the Net. The Internet, says Nair “has drastically changed the way we communicate and search for information. A campaign like Kiirti is only complete when that information accompanied by people affected, forces accountability on government entities.”
Thus, it becomes important to get the government also involved.
