Traffic is one of the biggest concerns of an urban life. Every time when we step outside, we say a silent prayer to the traffic gods to have a little mercy on us, but unfortunately almost every time the prayer goes unanswered. In fact, we all have spent so much time sulking through so many, non-working, faulty traffic lights one after another that almost each one of us traffic victims have come up with our own unique opinion/idea/product or service that can solve this menace once and for all. If you think your idea has got what it takes to make a city traffic free forever, then now is the time to put those ideas into practice. Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart, which turned 10 this year, has recently unveiled a Gridlock Hackathon contest through which it aims to solve Bengaluru's decades long traffic situation.
The e-commerce giant is focusing on Bengaluru for the contest as it is the city it took birth ten years ago in 2007, and by solving one of the biggest daily problems being faced by Bengaluruians, it wishes to give something back to the home city courtesy which it is India's most successful e-commerce company till date.
People interested in participating in the contest can visit Flipkart's special portal for the Gridlock Hackathon, submit the problem statement, proof of concept, supporting code or mobile app. Further, people can choose to participate individually or even in teams, with the maximum members in a team not exceeding 4. Also, participants are allowed to submit multiple entries.
The participants will even have an opportunity to discuss their ideas and seek intervention from Flipkart's tech experts.
Speaking to NDTV, Flipkart's Chief Architect, Utkarsh B said, "In our own small way we are creating an open innovation platform. People can come in, collaborate, discuss, brainstorm. And seed certain ideas that can help solve part of the problem. It could be small localised junctions like Silk Board junction, KR Puram junction - what can be done for that. Or it could be a micro problem Flipkart is invested towards."
When asked about if Flipkart is cutting its own legs by making the city traffic free, hence a shopping friendly city, Utkarsh B said, "None of the customers will be happy if the ecosystem around them is not happy. It will be a lot of gratification that we can give back to the city."
Participants are being given two weeks to put their ideas into action and make them work as Flipkart is not looking for a theoretical solution. The submissions will be stopped after this and the best entries will be shortlisted based on their impact, feasibility, scalability, and sustainability, along with the completeness. The top ten shortlisted teams will then get a chance to present their ideas to a jury who will select the top three ideas.
The top three best solutions will be presented on July 1, 2017 - and they will get to walk away with Flipkart vouchers worth Rs 2 lakhs for the first position, Rs 1 lakh for the second position and Rs 50,000 for the third position.
If traffic has taken over your daily life and you always wanted to do something about it, then now is the chance. Start working on that idea you have had since long right away.
The e-commerce giant is focusing on Bengaluru for the contest as it is the city it took birth ten years ago in 2007, and by solving one of the biggest daily problems being faced by Bengaluruians, it wishes to give something back to the home city courtesy which it is India's most successful e-commerce company till date.
People interested in participating in the contest can visit Flipkart's special portal for the Gridlock Hackathon, submit the problem statement, proof of concept, supporting code or mobile app. Further, people can choose to participate individually or even in teams, with the maximum members in a team not exceeding 4. Also, participants are allowed to submit multiple entries.
The participants will even have an opportunity to discuss their ideas and seek intervention from Flipkart's tech experts.
Speaking to NDTV, Flipkart's Chief Architect, Utkarsh B said, "In our own small way we are creating an open innovation platform. People can come in, collaborate, discuss, brainstorm. And seed certain ideas that can help solve part of the problem. It could be small localised junctions like Silk Board junction, KR Puram junction - what can be done for that. Or it could be a micro problem Flipkart is invested towards."
When asked about if Flipkart is cutting its own legs by making the city traffic free, hence a shopping friendly city, Utkarsh B said, "None of the customers will be happy if the ecosystem around them is not happy. It will be a lot of gratification that we can give back to the city."
Participants are being given two weeks to put their ideas into action and make them work as Flipkart is not looking for a theoretical solution. The submissions will be stopped after this and the best entries will be shortlisted based on their impact, feasibility, scalability, and sustainability, along with the completeness. The top ten shortlisted teams will then get a chance to present their ideas to a jury who will select the top three ideas.
The top three best solutions will be presented on July 1, 2017 - and they will get to walk away with Flipkart vouchers worth Rs 2 lakhs for the first position, Rs 1 lakh for the second position and Rs 50,000 for the third position.
If traffic has taken over your daily life and you always wanted to do something about it, then now is the chance. Start working on that idea you have had since long right away.
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