JAY JOSHI
A road in Baga was recently in the news because of a flex it put up for tourists. The flex informed the tourists that they had been misled by Google maps into taking this road to Baga beach, when actually, a different road leads to the actual beach. Despite being a hugely popular tool for navigation, Google maps has its flaws, and travellers have faced considerable difficulties owing to technical glitches with the maps. This has been the case mostly in remote places where both satellite range, and people are hard to come by - and even though Goa is a popular tourist destination, there have been cases where Google has made a mistake in showing the right directions.
No one knows this better than Deepak Sonawane, who travelled from Maharashtra to Goa to head a project by an NGO. “I was in Margao, and I wanted to go to a hall adjacent to a temple in Balli-Adnem, Quepem. I did not know Konkani very well, so, like any other person exploring unknown territory, I whipped out my phone, and tapped on Google maps,” shares Deepak. “I reached the village alright, but I discovered that there were many temples with halls adjacent to them, and only when I had reached the hall showed on Google maps did I realise that I was standing 12 kilometres away from my intended destination!” Sonawne then went on to call the contact person who was supposed to meet him at the said hall, but the person began dictating directions in Konkani. “I then stopped a passer-by, requested him to talk to this contact person, and translate the instructions for me in Marathi,” adds Sonawane, who has faced such situations numerous times as he has to travel regularly for fieldwork.
The story of Shanaya Malik from Bicholim is even more heart-wrenching. “We wanted to go to Margao Cricket Club, which was somewhere near the Margao railway station, but we ended up reaching Agonda, all thanks to Google maps” but the entire blame does not lie with Google, says Malik. “My husband is always reluctant to ask people for directions, and relies heavily on technology instead. It was he who insisted, over my repeated protests, to Google the place instead of simply asking people.”
Fortunately, E Menezes, a teacher from Panaji, does not face such deception at the hands of maps, but that is not to say it does not give her any trouble. “I use Google maps a lot, and it shows me the directions correctly, but I have found that it shows longer routes instead of shortcuts,” says Menezes. A number of users have also said that at times Google forgets to consider no-entry zones, which can put the user in a spot with the cops.
However, problems with mapping aren’t exactly new, and the fault for the glitches does not entirely lie with Google, clarifies Prajyot Mainkar, director at Android, and chairman of IT cell at Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Google maps takes a lot of inputs from contributors. There is a network of collaborators including mapping employees, and contributors such as local guides. Data is being constantly gathered, analysed and updated,” he elaborates. “If you look at areas such as Baga, the roads are quite narrow. Now, if new routes open up, new roads are made, the data has to reach Google in time. If that does not happen, there are such problems.” Google employees are constantly updating the maps, but they alone are not enough. It is difficult to get data from remote areas, where there are not many people travelling, avers Mainkar.
Secondly, Google maps relies heavily on contributors to refine and update its maps, and there could be instances where these contributors have marked wrong directions. It obviously takes some time till Google verifies the data and makes corrections, says Mainkar, pointing out that the game of making and updating maps is always on.
