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Life made easier with ‘Friends’

MALAPPURAM: The government-run one-stop service centre, Friends Janasevanakendram, here celebrated its eighth anniversary without fanfare. The Friends managers, however, launched a campaign to raise public awareness about the facilities available at the centre.

Friends Janasevanakendram – an acronym for Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for Disbursement of Services – is a multiple agency bill collection system, where customers can remit bills including that of telephone, power, water, vehicle registration and taxes.

Friends functions on the first floor of the municipal bus stand building from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on all days, including Sundays. However, the centre is closed on public holidays, including second SaturdaysFriends here accepts BSNL mobile bills and vehicle tax from anywhere in the State. It collects BSNL telephone bills, power bills and water bills from Malappuram district, examination fees, course fees and certificate fees of Calicut University, fees to be remitted to municipalities, building tax, business licence fees and electrical inspectorate fees. According to T.M. Harris, Friends project manager, those who remit Calicut University fees at Friends here have certain advantages. “They do not have to pay service charge or fill challan. They can remit even on Sundays without standing in a queue,” he said. Friends here also provides facility to reserve and cancel railway tickets between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. There were demands to extend the reservation time till 7 p.m. Mr. Harris added that Friends remained largely underutilised.

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