Intended to benefit Mumbaikars by providing them weather updates, the Mumbai Monsoon application launched by the BMC has received a number of brickbats from citizens on its review page. Most of the users have complained that the application is very slow and needs a lot of improvement. “My phone hangs every time I use it, forcing me to shut the application. The side panel, which has data on tides and weather forecast reduces the overall performance of the application,” wrote Nirmal Mehta, a user. Another user Santosh Verma writes, “Though it is a good initiative on part of MCGM, it is a very slow application. The interface also needs to be worked upon and the whole application has to be improved for citizens to benefit from it.” Launched about a month ago, the application provides citizens area-wise details about temperature, humidity, wind speed, information on tides and traffic diversions in the city. Some users have even said that they would prefer downloading other weather applications. “We can download better applications which provide accurate information. Mumbai monsoon lags behind all of those. Most of the times, the weather forecast, tide data also shows an error,” writes Rahil Haji. Though designed and maintained by the BMC, the application was developed by Abel Software and Consultants Pvt Ltd. “We are looking into incorporating all the suggestions made by the users. It is an on-going process and since the weather updates get refreshed every 15 minutes with the application, users might think it is slow. We are working on improving this,” said Jaideep Wairal from Abel Software. Mahesh Narvekar, chief officer of the disaster department of the civic body said, “Every new initiative will have its own share of good and bad reviews. The application is a first-of-its-kind and we are still working to improve it. Despite all the criticisms, people are still downloading and using the application.” tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com
