Flat owners already grappling with BBMP’s e-khata discrepancies now face another hurdle — the civic body’s own helplines, which often lead callers into frustrating dead ends.
Promoted as a solution for issues such as parking lot dimension errors, BBMP’s main helpline (1533) and WhatsApp number (9480683695) are, in practice, failing to deliver. Senior citizen Anand Kumar from Kanakapura Road shared how his attempt to file objections turned into a merry-go-round: the local revenue official sent him to the special commissioner at BBMP headquarters, who redirected him to the helpline — which either didn’t connect or looped him back to local officials.
A test by TOI confirmed residents’ complaints. Calling 1533 resulted in repeated language prompts and dropped calls. Attempts to reach the WhatsApp helpline led to long hold times before automatic disconnection.
Residents like Shalini Rao from JP Nagar say this is routine, not a glitch: “I’ve called over 20 times in a week. Even if you connect, you either get cut off or trapped in loops.” Ramesh Gowda from Yelahanka had to take leave from work to visit the revenue office, only to be told the concerned official was unavailable.
Civic activists warn that the system’s failures are eroding trust. “A helpline that doesn’t connect is worse than none,” said Vinod Kumar from a residents’ welfare association.
A senior revenue official admitted call volumes are overwhelming, claiming each of the 12 staffers handles nearly 100 calls daily.