BMC’s SMS service fails to push right button

Three days before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the civic body's SMS service, which intended to make voting a hassle-free experience, has turned out to be of little use to citizens.

The BMC had started a service through which voters could check their names in the electoral roles and get information on the location of polling booth and their ward number etc. by sending a SMS to 56677. While some voters succeeded in procuring the information, many have met with responses such as "invalid keyword," "please try again later," or "no records found for your last search".

"Initially, I thought it's a good initiative, especially for working youngsters. Instead of rushing last minute to check names in different booths in the area, I tried seeking information through the SMS service. But despite repeated attempts, I did not get any response," said 24-year-old Arvind Raman, a resident of Ghatkopar. Similarly, Abha Vazalwar, a resident of Colaba, tried the service and got a response saying no records were found in her name and that she should check the website.

Incidentally, the tab on the BMC's election website that is supposed to help voters search for their names in the electoral rolls does not function if too many people try to access it at once.

"The website was overloaded for a while as many people were online, but the SMS service has worked fine for some people. We will look into why it is not working properly for everyone," said Additional Commissioner Aseem Gupta.

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