Hyderabad students devise civic-friendly App

What do you do when you see an overflowing garbage bin, a wonky street pole or a clogged drain? What if you had an app that could send a photograph, a description and the location of the issue instantly to the concerned authority?

Inspired by the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, three computer science engineering students Aarshad Devani, Arbaaz and Furqan from Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, drew up a plan to make it possible for anyone to instantly report civic issues with just the click of a button.

Called UFix, the application will use the camera of the user’s mobile phone to capture the image of the subject in question and send it to the ‘administrator’ assigned to resolve the issue. The app will also use the GPS of the mobile phone to access the co-ordinates of the location and hence give the exact address. The typed message, if any, along with the picture and address is sent to the concerned authority, which will have access to the information through a special website.

“The complainant can remain anonymous of he chooses to. None of his details would be reported”, says Aarshad, who believes the idea has tremendous scope, if implemented on a large scale.

Coded entirely in HTML, the app uses Mozilla’s Application Program Interface to access the camera phone as well as the geo-location so as to prevent any spamming of messages. The app also provides access to a community page where the resolution of the issues is updated.

“This app can be used in colleges and offices too, where complainants can report issues without having to go to authorities themselves”

The trio is looking to collaborate especially with GHMC to bring this app to life.