CHENNAI: Are you tired of of continuing water woes? Do you have to wait in long queues to fetch water for the day? Well, the solution to your woes may be just an SMS away.
NextDrop, a Bengaluru based water distribution and information solutions company, is operating an SMS response system where people can get information and give feedback after registering with the NextDrop servers through a missed call. The system allows the user to know as to when there would be water supply in their area. And now, they have plans to introduce the concept in Chennai too.
NextDrop has opened an information network that could benefit both the end user and the water board authorities. The system has been implemented in places like Hubli, Dharwad and Bengaluru.
At present, the company has signed an MoU and a contract with the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to help provide a solution both for consumers and water management authorities. The company has met with reasonable success so far.
Speaking at the UNICEF mobile solutions’ conference in the city held on July 11, Nishesh Mehta, vice president, NextDrop said, “The system can be scaled up to a metropolitan city like Chennai as it keeps the ground metrics of the water distribution system. We look forward to working with the State Government, to bring an efficient water distribution information system.”
The valve keepers working at the ground level keep the company informed of their location and about the water pressure in the valve at a particular area in the city through Interactive Voice Response System(IVRS), which in turn will send information to the users about water supply in their area.
After a certain period, the system will make enquiries through IVR to check if the users are getting water supply, which is viewed on a web based dashboard updating the engineers of the water distribution network and the status of valves and inlets across the city along with crowd sourced information of issues on the consumer end.
NextDrop involves an SMS response system where people can get information and give feedback after registering with the NextDrop servers through a missed call. The system also allows the user to know when there would be water supply in their area.