As floods continue to affect large parts of Assam, a community-driven digital platform is seeking to address one of the key challenges during relief operations, coordinating where help is needed with where relief is already headed.
Banpani.org is a free, community-driven disaster relief platform that uses a shared live map to bring together information on flood-related needs, offers of help and rehabilitation efforts. The platform is designed to help communities and relief groups coordinate their response more efficiently.
The initiative was developed by Partha Borthakur, a Jorhat native working with the agri-technology business incubator of Assam Agricultural University, along with a few friends.
The idea emerged after Borthakur noticed that multiple relief vehicles were travelling to the same area while other flood-affected locations were receiving little or no assistance.
In an account shared about the platform, Borthakur said relief efforts in Assam are extensive, but much of the coordination takes place through scattered WhatsApp groups, where important information can easily be missed.
“Relief in Assam is enormous and generous. But so much of it lives inside scattered WhatsApp groups, where messages pile up and things slip – two convoys reach the same village while another waits, a camp runs out of ORS and the ask gets buried, a family is seen by one person who doesn’t know who to tell. We imagine a family needs rice and dal, but the actual need was something else.”
Borthakur said Banpani was created as a shared map to provide a broader picture of where assistance is required and where relief teams are already operating.
“Banpani is simply a shared, living map so we can see the whole picture at once together: 👉 banpani.org. It would help us stop making assumptions, and help coordinate and plan better.”
How Banpani works
The platform allows users to place a pin on the map and report a specific need, such as water, ORS, medicines, boats or other forms of assistance. Users do not need to log in to report a requirement.
Relief groups and volunteers can use the platform’s ‘Gaps’ view to identify areas that have not yet received assistance. Groups operating relief convoys can also announce their routes, helping reduce duplication of relief efforts.
Users can also report changes in water levels, allowing the flood map to reflect conditions on the ground.
The platform is available in English, Assamese and Hindi. According to Borthakur, phone numbers remain private.
The website also has a community-based system for information submitted to the map. Borthakur said an individual submission is not accepted into the map on its own and needs to be reported by three or more people before it is reflected, helping build greater confidence in the information being mapped.
The platform also includes information on verified donation drop-off points, while its live map is intended to show flood-related needs and areas where relief efforts are taking place.
Born out of a coordination gap
The idea for Banpani came as floodwaters affected several parts of Assam and relief operations gathered pace.
Borthakur recalled seeing three relief vehicles from different parts of Assam heading towards the same location. The vehicles were carrying relief material but their operators were unaware of other areas where assistance was required.
“The floods this time are of a much large-scale than usual and areas which were considered flood-free have been inundated. The response from the public and groups providing relief have also been unprecedented, but there was no coordination at all,” Borthakur said.
“While interacting with people of few vehicles carrying relief, I came to know that they were all going to the same place and were carrying mainly rice and pulses. But we knew that people in those areas had already received a lot of those items and were in need of clothes as they had to leave their homes suddenly and weren’t able to carry extra clothing,” he added.
The platform is therefore aimed at making relief coordination more responsive to actual needs on the ground, rather than relying on assumptions about what affected communities require.
A community-built platform
Borthakur has described Banpani as a tool that belongs to the community rather than to an individual or organisation.
In a LinkedIn post explaining the platform, he said it was built quickly in response to the flood situation and acknowledged that it would have limitations.
“This website was built very fast, so please expect rough edges. And also, since it is community driven, it can not be the single source of truth. Banpani belongs to no one – not to me, not to any company. It’s free, open source, and built by volunteers.”
The platform’s open-source nature means it can also potentially be adapted for future disasters and used beyond Assam.
Borthakur urged people to share the platform with camps, volunteers, families and others directly involved in relief operations, arguing that its usefulness depends on people on the ground contributing information.
At the same time, he stressed that Banpani is not intended to replace established emergency response systems.
“⚠️ And please remember: this is not a replacement for rescue. For any emergency, call 112 / SDRF / the ASDMA control room first.”
The platform is part of a broader emergence of technology-driven relief initiatives during the current floods in Assam. Other efforts, including the Helpmonk mobile application and Jal Raksha, have similarly sought to connect flood-affected people with volunteers, rescue teams and relief providers.
While these platforms have emerged as immediate responses to the floods, their developers have indicated that the underlying technology and coordination models could potentially be adapted for disaster response beyond Assam.
For Banpani, the immediate focus remains on making information from the ground more visible to those coordinating relief.