With the flood situation becoming serious in the region of Assam, technology interventions have been coming up in order to fill the void in communication between victims, rescuers, and aid providers in isolated areas.
Mobile application ‘Helpmonk’ and online mapping platform ‘Banpani.org’ have been introduced to facilitate the process of aid distribution and rescue operations.
These technological innovations come as official sources revealed that at least 85 people have died due to floods and more than 1.35 lakh people are still suffering.
Helpmonk: One solution for SOS and disaster management
It is a free mobile application developed by a boutique travel company. Firingoti is to help individuals to communicate with volunteers, non-governmental organizations (NGO), government agencies, and aid givers through one unified online system.
Though developed in response to the current flood situation in Assam, the Helpmonk application has been planned to be implemented in the whole country.
“While its immediate focus is the ongoing floods in Assam, the platform has been designed as a nationwide disaster response tool. The long-term vision is to expand the platform globally so that communities anywhere in the world can benefit from a coordinated disaster response ecosystem.” Anuj Kumar Boruah, Co-founder, Firingoti.
The app encompasses the entire cycle of disaster management, from sending SOS alerts and monitoring those who are stranded to rescue coordination, material distribution, and rehabilitation.
Created within seven days
Conceptualised and developed by New Delhi-based technology expert Dikshit Rajkhowa (Assam-born), the first version of the app was created within a week in order to deal with the emerging emergency situation.
“We built the first version of the application in less than a week because we understood the urgency of the situation in Assam, but the architecture has been designed to scale for disaster response anywhere in India,” Rajkhowa said.
Firingoti founder Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty clarified that the Helpmonk app runs as a purely humanitarian project.
“Helpmonk is completely free to use. Firingoti does not earn any revenue from this platform,” Pisharoty noted, adding that the platform also functions as a ground-data resource for journalists, researchers, policymakers, and relief teams.