Even as the Capital braces itself for the characteristically heavy downpours that throws life out of gear every monsoon, the Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) has a solution up its sleeves that just might go some way in mitigating the situation.
An app-based and crowd-sourced initiative aimed at the timely repair of potholes – both the symptom and the biggest challenge for road-owning and civic agencies alike every monsoon – is in the works and will be put up for Chief Minister Arvind Kejiwal’s nod in the days to come.
Based on a system currently in departmental use by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) in Lutyens’ Delhi, the PWD is developing a mobile application that can be used by Delhiites to get any pothole on the department’s 1,280-kilometre-long network of arterial roads repaired in a time-bound manner.
Easy to report
The initiative, which was announced by Mr. Kejriwal in October last year as part of his government’s vision to redesign as many as 11 prominent stretches in the Capital in line with international standards which prioritised pedestrians over other roads users, will become available “within three months’ time”, according to a source privy to developments related to it.
Equipped with a geo-tagging facility that will utilise a smartphone’s GPRS settings, the PWD app will be connected to a central server. The app will be rolled out on the Android platform before being made available on other operating systems.
According to a senior PWD official, a registered user will simply need to click a picture and send it via the app, which will automatically log it as a complaint and forward it to the wing concerned for repair.
A team will then, relying on the GPS coordinates obtained via the app, be despatched to the spot to execute the repair work at the conclusion of which the post-repair, or what the official termed the “after picture” of the spot, would be sent through the same app to the complainant.
Not just the general public but even the PWD stands to benefit from the operationalisation of the app which, according to a source, would also help with the internal vigilance and auditing of departmental work.
The PWD official said a presentation related to the app has been prepared and would be submitted to Mr. Kejriwal next week following which it would be put up to Delhi’s Cabinet of Ministers for its nod.
Presentation related to the app has been prepared and will be submitted to CM Kejriwal next week
