iSewa: Soon, hire a gardener, barber in Chandigarh with a click

From a gardener to a barber, soon a multitude of service providers will be a click away in Chandigarh.

By month end, the municipal corporation will bring together service providers and city residents on a common platform – iSewa, a web-based solution.

“Often residents, who need help don’t know where to get it. Similarly, the service providers don’t know where their prospective customers are located. iSewa, a free platform, will connect them both,” said Anindita Mitra, MC commissioner.

Akin to yellow pages, the website, an open crowd source-based platform, will initially provide access to hair stylists, gardeners, laundrymen, tyre repair shops, cobblers and ambulances, and more will be roped in gradually.

“Service providers trained under the National Urban Livelihood Mission will be listed on the web portal. We are on-boarding more and more service providers, and in a week’s time, we will be ready for a formal launch,” said Mitra.

The portal is the brainchild of Ravee Singh Ahluwalia, chief functionary of NGO Patiala Foundation that holds a special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The website is already being used across various cities in India.

More avenues for service providers

Service providers will have to register on the platform through a mobile number and OTP, with complete contact details.

There will be no cost involved for registration, which is only mandatory for service providers and not customers. MC will not be involved in any financial transaction between the two parties.

Sharing an example from Patiala, where she previously launched the initiative, Mitra said, “In Patiala, just one family still polishes copper utensils, but couldn’t get in touch with customers. But after registering on the platform, they got customers enough to open an exclusive shop.”

The list of services depends on the city’s character and needs. “In Karnal, for instance, lots of dhaba owners registered themselves. In Ambala, there are lots of e-rickshaw service providers,” said Mitra.

How it will work

- Users will have to visit www.isewa.patialafoundation.org

To start with, services of hair stylists, gardeners, laundrymen, tyre repair shops, cobblers and ambulances will be available

- Under “Find an isewa to call at doorstep”, the user will need to choose the city, area and service

- Thereon, a selection can be made from the list of service providers available.