Deputy Commissioner Hephsiba Rani Korlapati said on Thursday that the district administration would soon launch an app, “Sand Bazaar”, so that people could purchase sand through it. She was chairing a meeting of the District Sand Coordination Committee, here.
Ms. Korlapati said that the app was under development. The intention of bringing out the app was to provide sand to the people at cheaper rates in the district without interference from middlemen. The app would be developed on the lines of the app for sand launched in Dakshina Kannada recently, she said.
Information from officers of the departments concerned had been collected and provided to the firm developing the app so that the necessary features could be included in it. All the confusion related to distribution of sand would be solved after the app was launched. Sand would then be distributed only through the means of the app, she said.
By using the app, people would be able to get information about sand available at the nearest place. They could also see the price of the sand and pay for it online and the sand would reach their doorsteps. They need not hire a vehicle to transport sand, she said.
Besides, after they make a booking, they would get details such as loading and the vehicle that would be sent to them, on their mobile phones. It would be a transparent process. The registration number of the sand contractors and vehicles on which sand would be transported too would be available on the app, she said.
After the development of the app was completed, a training workshop would be held here to give complete information about the app to the sand contractors and sand transport operators, Ms. Korlapati said.
There was a detailed discussion on the features that could be included in the app at the meeting.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Vidya Kumari Assistant Commissioner S.S. Madhukeshwar, Deputy Conservator of Forests Prabhakaran, District Mines and Geology Officer Ramji Naik and other department heads were present.