How Twitter is helping UP government reach out to the people

In line with the Centre's aim to bring transparency in governance, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to ride on the micro-blogging website Twitter for reaching out to the people, a company executive said on Friday.

"The UP government has recognised the potential of Twitter as a platform for effective integrated public communication and is setting a model example for accountability and amenability within the administration," Mahima Kaul, Head of Public Policy, Twitter India, told IANS.

At the first-ever #UPonTwitter workshop organised in Lucknow this week, the State government asked officials across departments to join Twitter's live communication platform for effective communication and quick complaint redressal.

"The #UPonTwitter workshop is a step towards encouraging more departments to utilise Twitter to drive public campaigns and ensure effective governance with real-time public feedback," Kaul added.

At the workshop, the micro-blogging website facilitated a presentation and discussion of Twitter Rules, Account and Safety education, sharing of latest features for campaigns and analytics and discussed ideas for citizen engagement on the platform.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has 5,27,000 followers (@myogiadityanath), also directed all government departments to open Twitter accounts within a week.

Twitter is already being leveraged by the UP police to engage with citizens in real-time to provide faster response.

The UP Police (@UP POLICE) have 1,77,000 followers on Twitter. On an average, it receive around 200-350 actionable tweets, of which the police officials claim to resolve around 90 per cent the same day.

"We look forward to working closely with the government to advance transparent governance across all verticals," Kaul told IANS.