A ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign was organised in ward 93 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) where the local councillor Ratan Dey distributed contact cards, bearing the Didi ke Bolo toll free number and website among slum dwellers and eminent personalities.

Mr Ratan Dey, the councillor of the ward and member mayor-in-council (MMIC), Roads, today kicked off the ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign in the area of Jodhpur Park. He distributed the cards bearing the contact number – 9137091370- among the slum dwellers in Rahim Ostagar Road.

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An octogenarian woman, Lakshmi Mondal, who was handed over the card by Mr Dey, was delighted to know that she can call the chief minister of the state and convey her grievances. When asked what problems she will speak about, Lakshmi smiled, and told The Statesman, “At this age, there are several problems that I deal with. If I speak to Didi, I will tell her about problems relating to drinking water and many more.” The eminent author, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, a resident of the ward, also received the card.

He said “This is a good initiative. It could have been started earlier. Citizens have several complaints and through this initiative, they can convey these straight to the chief minister. Direct assurance from the chief minister can provide a lot of support to the common people. I feel this initiative can be termed as what we call an ‘Aam Janta Ki Darbar’.

Former Olympian and veteran footballer, Chuni Goswami, also a resident of the ward, on being handed over the card, said “I am obliged to have been provided this opportunity by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Nothing can be better than the CM talking directly to common people and giving an ear to their grievances. I will also convey mine to her.” Councillor and MMIC, Ratan Dey, said “We are reaching out to everyone in this ward. There are also more than 100 celebrities who reside in the ward and will be approached for the ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ campaign.”

Meanwhile, spurred by the overwhelming response of the ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ initiative, a programme to reach out to the grassroot people, launched by the chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamul Congress urged leaders not to slack off on bridging the gap between the people and the party and strengthen coordination with the MLAs of the respective areas to give more teeth to the campaign.

Addressing a press conference, Chandrima Bhattacharya, state president of the Trinamul Congress women cell and minister of state for health said, “The programme which has evoked an overwhelming response since it was started by the party chief Ms Mamata Banerjee, would need leaders to coordinate vigorously with the MLAs . Though they are on the job, they need to be more pro-active and act in close coordination with the MLAs.”