Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled an app called 'Call Before u Dig' on Wednesday to help avoid uncoordinated digging that damages subterranean utility assets such as optical fiber cables, costing the government thousands of crores each year.
PM Modi stated that the action is intended to prevent financial losses associated with infrastructure project execution. The smartphone application was created by the Gujarat government's department of telecommunications and the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics to protect underground public assets across the country.
How the app will facilitate coordination?
In order to carry out scheduled excavations, the app will connect excavators and asset owners via SMS/Email notifications and click-to-call. According to the administration, it is a 'whole-of-government approach' to the ease of doing business as well as governance.
According to the government, approximately 25,000 underground asset owner offices have been registered in the app as of now. The availability of utility agency information in a single location will allow excavators to keep them informed at all stages of project progress, it added. In the process, emails and messages will be automated for speedy alerts, and timely information will assist excavators and asset owners in ensuring planned collaboration to carry out any digging work.
Whom will it benefit?
According to government figures, one million cable cuts occur each year in the telecom sector alone. The 'Call Before u Dig' software is estimated to route 37 lakh route kilometers of optical fiber cable infrastructure in the telecom sector. It will also protect underground public infrastructure such as water and gas pipelines, as well as electrical cables.
According to the government, the app's services would boost project efficiency, benefiting all stakeholders through ease of doing business. Apart from saving money, the project will also lessen the likelihood of inconvenience to commuters and the general public caused by such damages, since there will be less disruption in road, communication, water, and other services.
