A digital app to ensure fuss-free excavation and coordinated digging to carry out construction works
Highlights
- Launch of the new app
- Operation and effectivity
- Impacts and enjoyed benefits
PM Narendra Modi seems to be considerably tech-savvy. From initiatives in the past like Digital India and Make In India he has ascertained the need to make the utmost use of technological interventions and stay updated. In the entire digitalization journey, several govt projects and schemes that were undertaken had made use of applications in several fields, be it education, women’s health, or receiving covid updates during the pandemic.
The CBuD app
Excavations ascribing to various developmental projects are detrimental to nation-building. This is necessitated by the need to ensure public welfare and good governance. Consequently, in the pursuit of excavation, workers must excavate or dig out a certain area of coverage. These include on-site operation-site and close monitoring of the vicinity.
However, instances of uncoordinated digging and excavations have led to damage of around Rs. 3000 crores every year. Moreover, it has caused considerable damage to underground assets like optical fibre cable connections, waterlines, gas lines, etc. The balance between excavation works and the underlying assets on site was significantly getting disrupted.
Operation and effectivity
Launched by the Ministry of Communications this app ensures a procedural communication process between the excavators and the owners of underlying assets. This further promises to address issues concerning damaged water, gas, or electricity lines.
The excavators on communicating with the respective on-site utility owner might gain knowledge about the directions and existence of lines from where they have traversed. Accordingly, it is expected that they will follow suit to examine their excavating operations further carefully
The entire system works on a mail SMS basis, exchange of notifications along with the availability of call options. Besides, several pieces of information will also be readily available in this app thus facilitating ease of research and communication.
Is this an apparent solution to prior problems?
Costing a government of Rs 3000 crore every year is surely a huge amount to bear. Taking into consideration that the government too has to meet several other incurring costs, the effectiveness of this app is soon to be realized. However, it cannot be strongly inferred as long as it is being operated on.
The excavation process causes considerable distress to pedestrians, vendors, and hawkers, alike owing to the disruption of the road networks and related plight. Nevertheless, the launch of the Call Before you Dig app is a holistic milestone to achieve both in the spheres of efficient governance and business.