Residents of Begurin Bengaluru come up with app to bring neighbours closer

BENGALURU : Ward 192, Begur, is perhaps the first ward in the city to have an app dedicated specifically for its residents, which has also been developed by two of them. Until December, the Swarna Begur Resident Welfare Association (SWAR) connected on WhatsApp to talk about various infrastructure and civic issues that concerned them. 

But now the app, called Swar, makes it easy for over 100 residents in the neighbourhood who can reach each other to tackle problems as well as explore common interests. “For instance, if someone is interested in maintenance of lakes, they can check the Swachh Begur category within the app to keep themselves updated on the cleanliness drives going to take place,” said Nilesh Kumar, one of the app developers.

It also features a virtual blood bank with donors who have given their contact and blood type details. “Last week, somebody was in urgent need of B+ blood and through the app we could arrange it in 10 minutes,” Nilesh added. “Recently, a family had trouble with funds for cancer treatment, and in two days we raised Rs 50,000 through the app. These are the kind of incidents that make this rewarding for us.”  The app also includes the contact numbers of officials from local agencies such as BBMP and BWSSB, as well as police stations, traffic police and fire stations. 

The app also has innovative categories such as crowdfunding and one called ‘Golden Years’ for senior citizens. People in Begur conducting classes in writing or singing can also promote them through the app. Through GPS, people can also locate the nearest public toilet and polling station for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. To encourage women entrepreneurs, they also have a category to promote their businesses. 

Amit Kumar, the architect of the app, said the idea was to make it user-friendly and easy for anyone to use. “We can also float petitions regarding varying issues on the app. Recently, we started one because of chain-snatching incidents in the area,” he said.

Categories on the app
●    Polling booths location 
●    Cycling community
●    Women entrepreneurs
●    Virtual blood bank
●    Senior citizens’ corner
●    Contact emergency, other city authorities 
●    Swachh Begur for sanitation issues  
●    Crowdfunding and petitions