Voice-based e-complaint kiosks opened at Vizag railway, bus stations

In a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at making police services more accessible and technology-driven, Home Minister V. Anitha, on Saturday, accompanied by Commissioner of Police Shankabratha Bagchi, inaugurated two voice-based e-complaint kiosks at the Visakhapatnam Railway Station and the RTC Complex.

The initiative, conceptualised by the Visakhapatnam City Police, is aimed at enabling the public to lodge complaints without having to visit a police station or depend on police personnel or others to record their grievances. The kiosks have been integrated with the Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS) to facilitate quicker processing and redressal of complaints.

The kiosks have been installed at the two major transit points, which witness heavy footfall, particularly the railway station, where around 1.5 lakh passengers pass through every day. The facility is expected to be useful for commuters as well as local residents seeking police assistance.

Speaking at the launch, Ms. Anitha said the initiative would make police services more accessible, transparent and faster for citizens. She said passenger safety was particularly important at the railway station given the large number of people using the facility daily.

“Passengers can now lodge complaints through the kiosk without approaching the police station. The system allows users to register their grievances through voice in Telugu, English and Hindi,” she said.

The Minister said the voice-based facility would also help improve the accuracy of complaints, as people can directly narrate their grievances instead of depending on another person to write them down. This would make the system particularly useful for those with limited literacy or inadequate digital skills, she said.

Ms. Anitha said the nature of crime was changing, and the Andhra Pradesh Police was increasingly using technology for crime detection and investigation.

Police Commissioner Shankabratha Bagchi said the kiosks would run round the clock at the railway station and RTC Complex. The integration with the PGRS would ensure that complaints registered through the kiosks entered the established grievance-redressal mechanism.

“The system will enable passengers to register complaints through a simple voice-guided interaction, without requiring extensive digital knowledge or assistance from police personnel. The initiative is particularly intended to benefit elderly persons, semi-literate and digitally inexperienced citizens,” Mr. Bagchi said.