Need to go when you are on the move, PeeProvider tells you where
Do you remember that recently a woman refused to get married into a household that did not have a lavatory? According to a UNICEF survey in 2011, 58 per cent of the world’s population practicing open defecation lives in India. The Indian government lately provided uniform definition to Open Defecation Free.
A primary cause of open defecation is the lack of lavatories in India, especially in rural India.
In metros and tier II cities, open defecation is not the problem, there are washrooms but information about them is lacking. As women we know that while travelling one of the primary problems is finding a clean washroom to use. Given that women are susceptible to UTI and other infections, the need for finding washrooms becomes important.
When you gotta go, you gotta go. But where do you go? It is a problem that persists for every woman in India who is a frequent traveller.
Thus, looking at this issue and an experience from personal life, the folks at Avignyata decided to find out a solution to this problem. They came up with PeeProvider, an app that helps to locate a toilet in the vicinity and also rate it after the use, based on its maintenance.
PeeProvider wants to bridge the gap between toilets and users. The aim is –‘To find the cleanest lavatory nearest to you.’
Strange for a Social Media Marketing Consultancy to build an app, isn’t it? The spokesperson of Avignyata Inc, Roshni Rohira says, “As a Digital Marketing Agency, we wanted to evolve ourselves from a service to product oriented company and becoming a one stop shop for meeting the needs of our customers. Through PeeProvider, an in-house project, we got an opportunity to successfully showcase our work from conceptualisation to implementation to marketing it to our target users – women.”
Roshni further adds, “Under Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, the government will be constructing 6000 toilets by 2019. The vision behind building these toilets is to make –open defecation free India.”
Although, the government is making attempts to build toilets for users and travellers, the question of locating them remains unsolved. This app will enable them to trace toilets available in hotels, malls, coffee shops or the ones constructed by Municipal Corporations in the vicinity effortlessly.
“Public toilets constructed and maintained by municipal corporations forms a major part of the listed loos in our mobile application,” says Roshni. The app also lists toilets under various categories like the Airport, Coffee Shop, Mall, Metro Station, Petrol Pump, Public Toilet, Railway Station, Restaurant, House, and Office. The application with the help of GPS locator will not only display public toilets in your locality but also at above mentioned places.”
Users on the basis of maintenance and hygiene also rate the listed toilets.
The app is free and is on iOS and google play and can help you find bathrooms by entering a location, or by GPS locator. You can rate the facilities, leave a review, or even add a new location with photos.
And while you are in there, it keeps you occupied with its gamification function that allows you to add, rate a toilet and earn points. A winner too is awarded based on highest points.
The App is mapping cities across India and at present includes- Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Goa, Agra, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Chennai.
“We are stressing upon and encouraging people on adding more toilets and rating them for other users of the app. The ratings will help other users to decide on which toilet to choose from many added and listed options,” says Roshni.
They have also approached various ministries and government fora to help them in reaching out to the masses. PeeProvider is already listed on ‘Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation’ under its innovative technologies.