Delhi-NCR Air Quality: With Delhi’s pollution levels in the ‘very poor’ category, MapMyIndia has introduced a new feature on its Mappls app for users to flag sources of pollution. “Let’s identify where and when the fires are burning. So that it is known where the issues are, and corrective actions can be taken,” Rohan Verma, the CEO of the digital mapping and geospatial software company, said in a post on X. Users can flag sources of pollution such as stubble burning with two easy steps, open the Mappls app and tap the Camera button. The captured visuals can then be found in the user’s gallery with an accurate geotag and timestamp. Users can further choose to post these visuals on the Mappls Map and share them on social media, with information on where and when exactly that photo or video was taken. Other users can respond to these Posts with their own map-stamped, time-stamped photos and videos too, the Delhi-headquartered company said. Pollution is upon us. There are farm fires 🔥 burning. Let’s identify where and when the fires are burning. So that it is known where the issues are, and corrective actions can be taken. Simply open Mappls App, and press the Camera 📷 icon. The Mappls App Camera adds the… pic.twitter.com/8qkp8rG9LZ — Rohan Verma (@_rohanverma) October 23, 2024 “There are tons of use cases and benefits of people using this capability. Helping identify and communicate pollution sources, and their resolution, at any time/place is just one,” Verma said, urging users to tag the relevant authorities while posting visuals of pollution sources. While collecting localised data is important for pollution control, Mappls’ feature based on crowdsourcing could potentially raise concerns of doxxing. Doxxing is when a user shares personal information about a person such as their name, phone number, or residential address without their consent. The moderation or verification process involved is also unclear. We have reached out to MapMyIndia for comment and will update this report when we receive a response.
