A friend has been promoted to the post of a chief. Those who missed his promotion ceremony decided to visit him at his house in Babena, north Thimphu, to celebrate the achievement. Not being able to find his house nearly spoiled the party.
The friends had to first find a former minister’s house, a futsal ground and a building with pink walls. A video call showing the landmarks and cars plying the route helped them reach on time.
This was on Thursday, soon after the Thimphu Thromde launched its City Addressing System (CAS). They were not aware of the system. It should have helped.
The CAS is a much-awaited development in navigating around the city that is expanding at an unprecedented rate. If it can live up to its promise of finding places a lot easier and straightforward, it is a welcome development.
While it may be a new system in the capital city, it is a basic requirement in almost all cities around the world. It is so useful that, for instance, many Bhutanese abroad could start working as soon as they arrive in a foreign country.
We could be the only country without such a basic necessity.
Finding a place in the capital city is a nightmare even today. If the tall or the “yellow” building was a landmark before, it is not today. There are many tall and yellow buildings. The city has grown and expanded so much that landmarks have become irrelevant. We experienced this during the lockdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. With restrictions imposed on movement and essentials depending on deliveries by the de-suups, it was an eye opener. It is late, but like we say, better than never.
The system works on integration with Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and Apple Maps. For that we need precise details like building number, street name, quadrants.
The success of CAS will depend on how recent and detailed the addresses are. The thromde still has a massive task at hand. The details, for instance, of building, name of roads are still not very clear.
It will take time for the people to get used to the system. We need to know the names of roads, streets, building numbers instead of the “pink building” or the tall tree or the monument to find the location.
What is more important is making the system reliable and letting people get used to it. It is a good start.
It is a little cumbersome, but it will improve and the benefits are many. Talk to the fast food outlets today. They know how difficult it is to deliver food on time and at the right place. It would be more useful during emergencies. If it can take on board other services of the thromde, it will ease service delivery and cut bureaucratic procedures.