Flipkart Announces Hackathon to Deal With Bengaluru's Traffic Woes

E-commerce major Flipkart on Wednesday announced a hackathon to crowdsource "innovative", "implementable" solutions from the tech community and concerned citizens, that could help ease the city's perennial traffic problem.

Termed "Gridlock Hackathon," the initiative marks the start of the "Month of Innovation" at Flipkart, a part of its 10th year anniversary celebrations, the company said.

The contest will run from June 7 2017 until June 21 2017 and is open for technology-centric solutions, as well as those that partially leverage technology through out-of-the-box thinking, it said in a release.

"The idea is to give back in some way to the city we all love, and ensure it retains the vibrant ecosystem that has been a major catalyst in the growth story of Flipkart and so many other companies," Flipkart CTO and Head of Engineering Ravi Garikipati said.

The hackathon would initially run online and participants can submit tech or partially-tech solutions for macro problems like Bengaluru's overall traffic, or traffic snarls in specific areas like Silk Board junction and KR Puram, Flipkart said.

All entries will be judged on parameters like impact, feasibility, scalability and sustainability and completeness, it said, adding, the teams or individuals with the best entries will get a chance to present their solutions to a panel of esteemed jury, who will pick the best three ideas.