Bhubaneswar has been portrayed as a blooming modern city with all the city amenities and facilities developed over the past few years. The city also has been able to place itself in the smart city road map of the country. The undulating terrain of the city consisted of a spread of ridges and valleys. During the monsoon water running-off through the ridges passes through the valleys and disposes into the adjacent river systems through the natural drains. However, due to the city's growth during the past few years the volume of runoff water has substantially increased, outweighing the capacity of the natural drains to serve the purpose. Besides, the clogging of the drains substantially reduces the carrying capacity of the drains resulting in frequent waterlogging of specific locations in and around the city. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporations owns up the responsibilities of clearing the drain cloggings to ensure smooth passage of water, however, availability of information on the clogged drain location is crucial.

SPARC assisted the GiZ of Germany to develop a crowd sourcing mobile GPS based Gamification Application with locally named Mu City Saviour to capture the geospatial location, photographs and ancillary information and report the clogged drainage locations so as to facilitate BMC to clear the clogging and resume normal water flow. 

Gamification Meets Urban Governance

The intuitive application has been designed in the Gamification Concept to attract the young volunteers to be a part of the system and to report the vulnerable drainage spots. In urban drainage, timely information holds the key to preventing  waterlogging. Recognizing this, SPARC unleashed a unique solution. The Mu City Savior Mobile App engages citizens in a mobile game that doubles as a data source. The game transforms citizens into City Saviors accumulating the credit points, crowd-sourcing real-time location-based information about the state of urban drainage infrastructure.

Crowd-Sourcing for Timely Action

The Mobile Application with attractive and interactive user interface provides an Avtar to each of the logged in users. The reporting functionalities can be used to capture the clogged drainage location data.The application facilitates data capture screens with automatic GPS based Location Coordinates of the spot, Photographs showing the clogged drain and allows the user to key-in the observation. The data captured through the UI is sent to the central server.

The data accumulated through the above crowd-sourcing mechanism is actively monitored by the authorities through a dashboard and initiates prompt action through issue of necessary directions through the app to the concerned officials for clearance of the clogging through mobile map based navigation to the exact spot. The dashboard on the Web GIS based application also presents the summarized and statistical information on the operational status.   

Points for Progress: An Incentivized Approach

Every contribution deserves recognition. The City Saviors earn points for their vigilance and reporting. This incentivized approach fosters engagement and responsibility. But these points are more than just a digital currency; they open the doors to a realm of rewards offered by the Urban Authority.

A Landscape of Collaboration and Empowerment

SPARC's Mu City Savior Mobile App isn't just about implementation of technology for a public cause; it also exemplifies forging  partnership between citizens and authorities. It transforms data into insights, harnessing the power of real-time information to catalyze preventive action. By empowering citizens to be active contributors, the app creates a seamless bridge between governance and the community.

Empowering Tomorrow 

The Mu City Savior Mobile App is a beacon of change citing use of technology for the mass to resolve the public issues. It proves that technology can be enablers of citizen engagement and proactive governance. Through gamification, rewards, and data-driven insights, SPARC envisions a future where urban challenges are met with collective power, and each point earned echoes progress and resilience.