Kalaburagi and Tumakuru register highest Panchamitra chatbot grievances

Kalaburagi and Tumakuru districts registered the highest number of complaints on the Panchamitra WhatsApp chatbot launched by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department to address rural grievances.

Kalaburagi recorded 770 grievances, followed by Tumakuru with 739, Raichur with 693, and Belagavi with 648. Officials said the initiative, claimed to be the first of its kind in the country, currently has 1.21 lakh users and a resolution rate of 99.50%.RDPR minister Priyank Kharge told TOI that the Panchamitra portal and WhatsApp chatbot helpline 8277506000 launched in March 2024 provided about 100 services of various departments at Gram Panchayat level and attended to grievances.

"The helpline has emerged as a successful tool to help rural people and has prevented middlemen's menace," he claimed.According to the statistics provided by the RDPR department, the Panchamitra WhatsApp chatbot witnessed 1.21 lakh users till Dec 24, 2025, and a total of 12,771 grievances were registered in all 31 districts. "With the resolution of 12,708 grievances, we achieved 99.50%," sources added.Bheemanagouda Paragond, an RTI activist from Athani, noted that the helpline prevented rural people from wandering to taluk offices and gram panchayats.

"Moreover, it is also educating rural people to use online platforms to resolve issues in their surroundings," he observed.However, there are allegations that grievances are being closed without actual resolution, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the system. Satish Javaregowda, a writer, shared his experience that he registered a grievance with the helpline on October 31, requesting a subsidy for the toilet constructed by MJ Timmegowda, a senior citizen, at his residence in Mangala village in Mandya taluk. "This senior citizen is waiting for a subsidy for over 1 year and wandering to the gram panchayat often. Seeing his plight, we raised a grievance and even sent 2 reminders later. No reply is received till today. Our village youth raised a grievance over a defunct drinking water unit, and they also did not receive a reply even after months," he stated.