Deputy Commissioner Hephsiba Rani Korlapati said on Saturday that the district administration would release an app, Udupi Help, to deal with the monsoon-related problems in the city.
Addressing presspersons here, Ms. Korlapati said the app was being developed on the lines of the C-Vigil app of the Election Commission of India. It will help people to interact with the staff of the Udupi municipality. They will be able to submit complaints of flooding or fallen trees on the app, which will be made available on Google Play store in a week or 10 days, she said.
The app will be launched as a pilot project and is limited to Udupi city. It will have a drop-down menu. The responding departments will include the City Municipal Council, MESCOM, water supply, and Department of Forests. Residents can upload photos and videos through the app. “Our target is to resolve the problem in minimum time or within six hours. Already, a demonstration of the app is going on. Its beta version is being tested,” she said.
To a query on why the app service cannot be extended to the entire district, Ms. Korlapati said it was a trial app and there was limited time to develop it. “Besides, Udupi is the dense city in our district. Hence, we have taken it up as a pilot project in Udupi city this year,” she said.
On how the app would work, she said that once a tree falls somewhere, its photo can be uploaded through the app. “Once the tree is cleared by the department concerned, they too will have to give an update with a photo of the cleared area along with the time stamp. We intend to clear the complaint in six hours,” Ms. Korlapati said.
Nisha James, Superintendent of Police, and Vidya Kumari, Additional Deputy Commissioner, were present.
