Pokémon Go fans have discovered to their dismay that Bengaluru, with its dangerous footpaths and pothole-ridden roads is not ideal material for the task of walking around catching Pokémon characters. But there is a new mobile application on the block: Pothole Fix, which helps citizens report potholes to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s grievance portal — http://bbmp.sahaaya.in/
The Android app has been developed by NGO Janaagraha. Sylvia Veeraraghavan, online coordinator, told The Hindu that the app gives citizens a convenient way to report potholes. “Users can take a picture of the pothole, assign a landmark to it and upload the photo on the app. If they are in the area, they can also use the phone’s GPS coordinate to get the exact location,” said Ms. Veeraraghavan.
The app will redirect complaints to the Sahaaya portal, from which they will be sent to different ward engineers, said BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad. After the engineers attend to the request, information will be sent to the Janaagraha portal, and citizens will receive an SMS on the status of the complaint.
“As far as major roads are concerned, we are taking up repairs where potholes have been reported. The app will help to get information on ward roads,” said Mr. Prasad.
The app has received a good response so far. “There have been 580 downloads, and 82 potholes have been reported, of which 17 are in an open state, and 65 have been assigned to officials,” said Ms. Veeraraghavan.
An updated version of the app will give users an option to share their complaint on social media. An option to vote up complaints is also on the drawing board.
