The Thanneermukkom grama panchayat has launched a mobile app for promoting commercial activities in the local body.
Thadhesh will help farmers and micro- and small-scale industries to sell directly, while consumers can buy fresh and reliable products locally from the comfort of their homes. People can buy a host of products online: vegetables, fruits, coconut, dairy, spices, non-vegetarian items, pets, plants, livestock, traditional medicines, biofertilizers, farm machinery, seeds, and saplings.
Officials say the app is a community-based online marketplace and a social media platform, which would strengthen the local market structure and economy.
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“Farmers, small-scale industries and others can register and list their products in the app. Customers can buy the products listed in the app directly from the seller. This will ensure a good price to the sellers. In the future, we will upgrade with an aim to use it for online food ordering and delivery,” said panchayat president P.S. Jyothis.
Mr. Jyothis says the local body has created a labour bank and the app would connect employers and employees. Members of Kudumbashree units or individuals could be entrusted with delivering products at the doorsteps. Apart from individuals, shop owners and businesses can buy products from a farmer/producer by registering as a merchant.
It will also help tourists and others visiting Thanneermukkom, a backwater tourist destination, to find local sellers of indigenous products and crafts. “Craftsmen and producers of indigenous products can use this platform to increase their income,” said an official.
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A unique social media feature, ‘My Village’, in the app delivers local news, information about government schemes, and policies. The feature enables the public to interact with local authorities such as ward members, the Agriculture Department, community development officials, among others.
The app was created by Joshy C. George, Eldho Ittan George, Amal Chandrasekharan, and Gokul K.