Google Maps Show Food Shelters For Migrant Workers To Help Them During Lockdown

COVID-19 pandemic has truly shaken our country. And while we all are crying about the lockdown staying in the comforts of our home, some people aren¡¯t so lucky.

Reuters

After the announcement of lockdown, many migrant workers were released from their jobs, forcing them to walk all the way to their homes -- hundreds of kilometres away. They¡¯re stranded and helpless. However, Google has decided to make their lives a little easier.

The search engine giant has revealed that it is working with state and central government authorities to look for relief centres, including food and night stay shelters in cities across the nation.

For example, you¡¯re in Mumbai, all you need to do is search ¡®Food shelters in Mumbai¡¯ or ¡®Night shelters in Mumbai¡¯ and Google will populate the list of shelters closest to you. As of now, they¡¯ve got information for around 30 cities, with more cities to be added to the list.

This feature is not just available on expensive smartphones but also works on feature phones running on KaiOS -- phones like Jio phones. Moreover, users can even search for the queries in Hindi and the search engine will recognise the text in no time.

According to Anal Ghosh, Sr. Program Manager at Google India, ¡°As the COVID-19 situation develops, we are making a concerted effort to build solutions that help people during these times of need. Highlighting the locations of food and night shelters on Google Maps is a step to make this information easily available to the users in need, and ensure they can avail the food and shelter services being provided by the government authorities.¡±

He further added, ¡°With the help of volunteers, NGOs, and traffic authorities, we hope to convey this important information to the affected people, many of whom may not have access to a smartphone or mobile device during this time.¡±