Already a global phenomenon, Pokemon Go players will have many interesting stories to tell. Now, giving them a better sense of purpose, a group of youngsters from Kochi have created a spoof app — Pothole Go! Developed by Kochi-based Inforge, this app is used as a protest and marking tool for the potholes on Indian roads. It even made to the front page of the official Pokemon Go subreddit, because many people liked the idea of this harmless protest! Players can catch ‘legendary potholes’ and mark them using this app. With a tagline ‘Gotta close ‘em all’, the app developers have even made a promotional video.
How did it all begin? The coordinator of the Pothole Go campaign, Charles Andrews, found the number of potholes alarming. “Pothole Go is a campaign against the pothole-ridden roads of India, and the idleness of the authorities on the same. Each year, around 3000 deaths are reported in relation to potholes. Our aim is a harmless protest by utilising smart phones that everyone has these days,” says Charles.
A quizmaster, Charles runs Grey Matter Club — a firm that provides research materials and technical support for TV shows. He decided to make use of the Pokemon Go craze that went beyond imagination — “We chose the app to be a spoof of the popular Pokemon Go. If youngsters are willing to roam around trying to catch imaginary creatures, why can’t we give them a better purpose and a greater cause? That’s how we created Pothole Go!”
So, how does it work? “Users can mark a dangerous pothole by planting a ‘Plantain tree’ on it as a sign of protest, and the coordinates of the pothole are automatically entered into the Pothole database and viewed within the app. Planting in the potholes is the most Indian way to protest against the potholes!” laughs Charles.
The team aims to send the number of potholes and their locations in each constituency to the respective MLAs, every month. Coding is handled by Jovis Joseph and Gijo Varghese of Inforge — a Kochi-based startup known for web design and app development.
“All these teams are alumni of the same institution, working in different fields. We decided to come up with a creative solution for the pothole issue. I’m coordinating the campaign and bringing everyone together for this non-profit initiative,” Charles says.
The app was released in beta state during the first week of December, and so far, they have collected plenty of pothole data from users. “Even though the app doesn’t give the users any direct benefit, we still see several users support us by actually reporting the potholes. A post about ‘Pothole Go’ was uploaded on the official Pokemon Go subreddit and it got enough upvotes and reached its front page within 24 hours! Pokemon Go users from several countries liked the idea of such a spoof and lauded the creativity of the campaign. There were also reposts of the same in sites like 9GAG and the general response is positive and it seems India is not the only country with the plague of potholes.”
The team also aims at making the app reach as many users as possible, and thus reminding the authorities that people are frustrated with their lack of attention to this serious issue. “We are in fact helping the authorities by creating a channel through which everyone can mark the potholes!” he adds.
As part of the app promotion, they have created a 60-second video and are planning to release it this weekend. The video and posters for the campaign were done by Adars Shiras, Leeson Vallappady and Christy Vazhappilly.
