Tech for Pune Samvad
Currently, we are using tech for 2 things,
- Hosting this website
- File indexing & storage
The website is built using Docusaurus, an opensource static site generator from Facebook. For our storing all our files, we are using Google Drive.
Here are some things that are on our roadmap
Website
We want to build the following features on this website :
Todo List
A citizen who wants to get involved in contributing to civic issues around them starts off clueless. Who do I contact to help with illegal tree felling in my area? What's the procedure to register a complaint with the water department?
We want to build checklists where we show how one can go about getting help. This will include things like who should be the first point of contact in your area, other nearby citizens who have shown interest in similar issues in the past, how to escalate your grievance if you don't get the required support, and more.
RTI Tracker
This will be a tool to prepare, and track RTI applications. It will also help in publishing your application and sharing it with the community (similar to how we’ve been publicly sharing all our applications in various courts).
Translation
Docusaurus supports i18n. We need help in setting up a build pipeline where content is translated in Marathi. This will be a partially manual process as someone will have to verify that the content is correct before publishing.
Geo Mapping & Visualization
A lot of the information that concerns citizens can be expressed using maps. Everything from rerouting of traffic during Palkhi, showing roads that are closed for work, indicating areas that are going to have a water/power cut, and more - can be better communicated with citizens using interactive maps on this site.
This also includes research projects that can lead to litigation like mapping sewage that goes into our rivers, and lakes. Using satellite imagery from services like Pixxel and Planet Labs to map, visualize and inform citizens of tree felling, progress and changes from construction activities, and more.
Files
currently it’s hard to search and index case files, publicly available documents, RTI applications and responses, and govt notices. A tool which indexes all these documents to help in research is a tool that will greatly help our legal efforts. In fact, this also helps to keep track of what applications people in your neighborhood have already made, and encourages collaboration over duplicate effort.
We have identified paperless as an open source software project for this task. We need help in deploying and managing it, and migrating all our existing content from Google Drive.