CHENNAI: Within 10 days since its launch, Makkal Needhi Maiam’s app –MaiamWhistle – has garnered considerable traction with more than 250 verifiable complaints being registered across the State every day.
“We receive more than 1,000 complaints every day and our four-step verification process streamlines around 75 per cent of the complaints,”a member of the app’s technical team told Express.
Currently, the app has four zonal teams consisting of lawyers, former bureaucrats and party functionaries, who push for a quick verification of the issues in their respective regions.
However, it is learnt that the volume of complaints will force the party to assign an admin for each of 234 constituencies in the State.”Quick verification is the key. This will encourage people to keep blowing the whistle over wrongdoing,” said another party official.
During the app launch on April 30, questions were raised about what would happen after the complaints were lodged. Kamal Haasan had assured complaints would be escalated by the party on behalf of the whistle-blower.
The party seems to be walking the talk. According to party officials, five complaints have been escalated to the State government for remedy. While three of these complaints are about civic issues, two are about the release of toxic effluents from leather and dyeing industries in Anakaputhur and Tirupur respectively.
“We have got permission for resolving one of these issues we escalated to the government,” said a party official, explaining the MNM would take it upon itself to desilt the Sowmya Damodara Perumal Temple tank in Villivakkam. Party officials also said it would not shy away from teaming up with NGOs.
Kamal Haasan said the whistle-blowing app would give the common man the power of the press. This statement, however, has not come without ‘conditions apply’ in asterisks as the app requires the common man to register with the party to enjoy such ‘powers’. While this intricacy could deter whistle-blowers from having other political affiliations from using the app, it is a blessing for whistle-blowers who want to get into the inner circles of the MNM.
“The membership number is the whistle-blower’s identification and his/her contribution can be quantified by the app,” said a member from the technical team.
“The Maiam Whistle app is a society building tool. The champions who do great work will be recognized by their zonal heads and the party president. They will become the torch-bearers of their locality/ area/constituency,” said a party spokesperson.
With Kamal Haasan confirming that the party would be contesting the civic polls and emphasising ‘service’ from party workers, the app would allow whistle-blowers to stake a claim for tickets backed by their track record.
The first-of-its-kind app has recorded just 50,000 downloads, (which is 4,50,000 less than the number of friends Kamal Hassan had claimed to have made over the years). It seems to have prompted the Chennai Corporation to issue a release regarding its own complaints app - Namma Chennai which was launched earlier in the year.