Every Wednesday, a modest crowd of locals gather at the Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) office in Garhwa; the occassion, ‘Coffee with SDM’. The unique initiative launched by the bureaucrat is bringing big relief to people of Garhwa, as he invites individuals from different walks of life and talks to them over a cup of coffee every week and tries to resolve their problems then and there.
SDM Sanjay Kumar invites residents from his division, listening intently as they pour their hearts out; complaints, problems and suggestions. The officer takes it upon himself to provide ready solutions to their grievances in consultation with the administration.
Whoever the aggrieved, however small their misgivings, SDM Kumar is all ears. Senior citizens, farmers, businessmen, children, auto rickshaw drivers and newspaper vendors – the SDM’s office never shuts its doors.
He even plans to invite workers from the unorganised sector, students preparing for competitive exams, persons with disability and panchayat representatives to get a broader picture of society at large.
According to the bureaucrat, the programme has improved communication between common people and the administration. Positive results have emerged out of the weekly interactions and people are openly giving suggestions to improve their surroundings, he said.
As of now, the SDM has conducted eight such sessions and talked to over 400 people from different sections and heard them patiently for hours over a cup coffee. The SDM says, though the number of people he has met so far, may look small, its impact is far-reaching as many others gets benefitted because the problems don’t affect only an individual but a group or community.
Citing an example, the SDM says when talking to the elderly, one of them said due to intense cold they were not able to go for morning walks as free entry into the local parks are allowed till
8 am only. Retired and elderly with no source of income, it is difficult for them to pay the entry fees in the parks every day, they said.
“I immediately called up the concerned authority and asked them to extend the free entry into parks until
11 am. They were so happy that they thanked me; it was really satisfying,” he said
In this programme, people are giving suggestions to improve their city. “Generally people continue living with their problems due to lack of access to the officials. Therefore, first I changed the environment around the office and the sitting arrangements. Now, we sit together on a round table with same chairs for everyone, same coffee cups for everyone, to give them a sense of comfort that everyone is same here,” the SDM said.
The first session which extend for hald-an-hour is dedicated for general discussion on their day-to-day lives,how they reached there and other trivial issues to make them familiar with the office, he added.
Once relaxed, they automatically start discussing their problems. “When one person communicates their problems, others also come up with theirs, hence the talks continue,” said the SDM. When speaking to a group of people hailing from the same community, he also inquires on issues affecting the them at large, he says. “When I understand their situation, I call up concerned officials and ask them to look into the matter,” the officer adds.