Google says '11 percent of Nepalis still at home'
Google has been publishing reports from time to time on how the movement and activities of people in society are changing due to coronavirus (Covid-19). Google released a new 'Community Mobility Report' on Thursday, based on a study from last Tuesday.
According to the report, the activities in the homes of Nepalis have not been completed yet. Compared to the normal situation, 11 percent Nepalis are still at home.
Activities in other areas are gradually becoming normal. But the excitement at home is still there.
Based on Google Maps, Google has divided the study area into 6 different categories. These include entertainment, supermarkets and pharmacies, parks, public transport, work areas and housing.
According to Google's report, the number of people visiting restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, museums, libraries, movie theaters and other places in Nepal is still 35 percent less than usual. However, compared to March, it has increased by 43 percent, according to Google.
In March, activity at such locations had dropped by 78 percent. Similarly, the activity of people in grocery, food, agricultural market, pharmacy, supermarket and other places is still 17 percent less.
Activities in national parks, river banks, public gardens, etc. have been reduced by 21 percent. Similarly, activities in public transport, bus parks and other places have decreased from 74 percent to 36 percent compared to March.
According to a report by Google, 34 percent of people are still unable to attend work.
The number of people returning to the area, which was reduced by 72 percent in March, seems to be increasing. On this basis, Google concludes that 11 percent of people are still at home.
Nepal and Nepali's new 'address'/'Thegana'
Everyone has their own personal experiences and experiences. There are many examples of those experiences that have made a difference in people's lives.
The story of the popular messaging app Viber in Nepali society was also an experience. Talmon Marco started Viber to shorten the hours-long journey to visit his girlfriend.
Similarly, Garrett Camp, the founder of Uber, has become the owner of billions of dollars by turning an unpleasant experience of paying eight hundred dollars into rent into an opportunity.
Similarly, there are many Nepali products born from one's own experience. A vivid example of this is 'Address Service'. Address i.e. digital map of Nepali.
The streets of Patan were smooth and if Vishal KC could have easily found his friend's office, it would not have become an 'address' today.
KC, who returned to Nepal after a long stay in the United States, had never followed the streets of Patan before. He lost his roof based on the location given by his friend. Reaching a friend's office through that street of Patan proved to be a Mahabharata for him.
Casey recalls, "I went ahead and showed the location of my friend's office to the locals. But, I could not reach the address I had to go. I had to call my friend to pick him up by giving him the address where he was standing. '
The journey to the friend's office is over. But, in my mind, the map of the new journey began to be drawn. After returning from a friend's office, he spent the next few months searching for a way to cross the street.
KC recalls, ‘I thought it would be possible to map Nepal digitally. So that you can easily reach your destination by pointing to a digital number. '
However, not all the streets in Kathmandu had a separate name. The government has not done much in this regard. After brainstorming for about eight months, he finally took the journey of his mind to the place of 'address'. Which was a unique location based on code.
This is April 2019. Although code-based mapping systems are new to Nepal, they are not new to the global environment. During the study, KC found that it was used in countries like Kenya and Mongolia.
Even there, it was used to solve problems like the confusion in the streets of Kathmandu. So Casey himself doesn't consider it unique.
Anyway, his team started it in Nepal. For that, 858 million codes were prepared by measuring the territory of Nepal at the rate of 9 by 9 meters. Nine numbers with letters and numbers were provided to make each place unique.
For example, the address of Goshwara Post Sundhara, Kathmandu was given as 'KTM-P82756'. The first three letters indicate the district concerned and the remaining six numbers indicate the location. In the above address, KTM means Kathmandu district and the rest is the electronic address of Goshwara post office.
In the same way, 'Address' has given a unique number to every place in Nepal. It even has its own address from the top of Dada to the middle of the Trishuli river. Casey wanted it to solve even future problems.
So, even if there is no house in any place at present, even if the road is not paved, the digital address of that place is already ready. It also has the facility to allow the user to enter the name of their address as they wish.
If someone needs a QR code for their address, it can be prepared by putting the necessary information in it. According to KC, the number of people using 'address' has exceeded 1,500 at present. According to him, digital addresses of more than 16,000 households have been prepared.
The 'Address App', which works even offline without internet, can show the way to the destination by giving instructions at every turn. KC's dream is to make the journey easier by showing the way to every passenger.
"It also aims to make it easier to get delivery services, get emergency services, register addresses in a bank account, and travel from one place to another on foot," he said.
It can also relieve financial institutions from the difficulty of following the current KYC rules. It seems to be useful for quick and simple relief work during natural disasters. In the process of preparing the address in this way, it is not uncommon for those who say that the address team is like Google Map.
KC said that he understood it as a right question and wrong answer. Explaining his point, he goes on to say, "Because, where Google and Apple Map left Nepal, we started all over again." Of course, Google Maps is the backbone of our system. We do not plan to replace Google with the address. '
Do a Google search for the site and then click on the cached link below the search results. But the 'address' has made it possible to find every house from the search. Casey thinks replacing a big company like Google is beyond his capacity and purpose.
In fact, 'Address' is a local product that solves the problems of Nepal and Nepalis by making good use of Google Maps. Even though the product is ready, now the issue of explaining the importance of their address to every people has become a challenge for them.
KC's team has made a plan to get rid of the obligation to say location from a certain place here or there. Now his team is busy marketing the address. At the same time, 'address' is being used as an alternative to sustainable and sustainable projects.
The company currently employs eight people. They are in a hurry to use the code-based address as an alternative in government bodies. But government bodies have not been able to rise above the same old matrix system.
The metric system is a system of naming certain streets separately and addressing the houses and places below / above the road on the same basis. However, not all streets in Nepal have been named.
KC sees such a practice as impossible to imagine a digital Nepal. He says, "Address can be a good tool to realize the vision of Digital Nepal."
Based on the 'address', the government is likely to make a good income by activating the postal service. This was KC's motive behind creating the app.
"I wanted the dead postal service in Nepal to be revived with this address," says KC.
Now the market is sure to be based on online. Online shopping, online business has begun to expand. 'Address' can be an easy way to get cheap goods to the destination.
If it is to be used, it is certain that the current obligation of the customer to contact again and again for delivery while giving his location will be removed.
Who can work out a solution cheaply and quickly. Address is also preparing to collaborate with online service delivery companies.
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