Teen's AI App Reports Potholes and Emails Authorities

When Parth's parents were injured in a motorcycle accident on a New Delhi pothole, the 15-year-old decided bureaucracy shouldn't make road safety so hard to fix.

He built Project Sadak, an AI-powered app that turns anyone's smartphone into a pothole reporting system. Users snap a photo, and the app uses GPS to pinpoint the location and AI to verify it's actually a pothole.

The clever part comes next. Citizens grade each pothole as severe, medium, or mild, with human reviewers ensuring accuracy. This keeps the worst hazards flagged in red instead of buried under minor complaints.

Then Project Sadak automatically drafts and sends an official email to the right local authorities. No hunting for phone numbers or email addresses. No copying bureaucratic language. Just one tap and it's done.

"Initially, we were emailing the parties manually," Parth told The Better India. "But now the platform automatically writes an email and submits the report."

Teen's AI App Reports Potholes and Emails Authorities

So far, 360 potholes have been reported through the app. While government response has been slow, 11 have been repaired. Most were fixed by Parth himself using contractors from his father's construction business.

One pothole reported in Bengaluru got fixed even though the AI couldn't find official contact information. Someone saw the report and took action anyway.

The Ripple Effect

Parth isn't stopping with what he's built. He's adding full automation from photo to email and creating a WhatsApp chatbot so people won't need to download an app. He also wants to add tracking to monitor whether reported potholes actually get fixed.

The teen coded everything from scratch, though he admits the complexity eventually required AI assistance. What started as one family's painful accident became a tool anyone can use to hold authorities accountable.

In the world's most populous country, where infrastructure struggles to keep pace with growth, a teenager just proved that good technology and citizen action can start closing the gap.