In times of emergency, it’s natural to feel panicked and helpless when there’s no one around. But as a Mygate resident, you can feel at peace knowing that help is just a click away.
The Security Alert button on your Mygate app allows you to instantly alert your family and friends (even if they aren’t Mygate users) as well as the main gate security, with just a few taps. Additionally, you will also get a notification when someone is on their way to help you.
To raise a security alert:
- Click on ‘Security’ on the Mygate home screen
- Select the type of alert you want (SOS, Call Security, Message Guard or allow kid exit)
To configure the alert for family and friends:
- Click on your profile on the Mygate home screen
- Select Security Alert List
- Click on ‘Add New’ to select contacts (family & friends).
A confirmation SMS will be sent to the selected contacts to receive the IVR call in case of an emergency.
Safety is of utmost importance at Mygate. With this feature, residents can quickly and easily ask for help when in need. Take the first step by enabling this feature today on the Mygate app.
Good news for animal lovers in the State of Karnataka. On 13th July 2020 Government of Karnataka issued a Circular detailing the guidelines to be followed by Resident Welfare Association (RWA) / Society Owner Association towards pet and stray animals. It is important to note that it upholds the Article 15(G) of the Constitution of India which states that –
“It is the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for all the living creatures”
It also advises the RWA/AOA’s to adopt ‘Doctrine of Ahimsa’ towards pets and stray animals.
The Circular No. AHP 114 AHP2015(P-1) categorizes the guidelines between Pets and Stray/Community Animals.
Guidelines to RWA/AOA’s on pets are as follows:
- No Ban: RWA/AOA’s cannot resort to any ‘ban’ on keeping of pets
- Byelaws & Regulations: Illegal to have Byelaws & Regulations which ‘ban’ pets
- Discrimination: Illegal to discriminate usage of certain facilities by pets viz., Lifts, Garden, etc.
- Cleaning of Pet Poop: No rule to mandate cleaning of pet poop and RWA/AOA cannot levy charges, fines on pet owners (Only request Pet Owners to maintain civic responsibility)
Guidelines to RWA/AOA’s on Strays & Community Animals are as follows:
- Sterilize & Vaccinate: RWA/AOA’s to coordinate with authorised organisations and carry our sterilization & vaccination of stray dogs
- No relocation: Vaccinated pets cannot be relocated or removed
- Feed Strays: Advocates to feed stray and ensure reduction of aggression and population. Persons who are trying to interfere or object to feeding strays can be liable to criminal intimidation under Indian Penal Code. Feeding stray animals is not against law and RWA/AOA cannot interfere with a person’s freedom to feed any stray animal.
- Increasing awareness: RWA/AOA to increase awareness among residents to take care of stray and community animals
The guidelines issued by the Government of Karnataka are in line with erstwhile guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).
Pet & Animal lovers are also requested to adopt a co-operative attitude with RWA/AOA & other residents to ensure the welfare of animals and also maintain harmony within Societies.
Click here to view the full circular.
Going green is the responsibility of every individual on the planet. It may currently be a personal choice but could eventually become a national mandate in the future.
In an American survey conducted in 2019, realtors reported that 36% of their clients showed a substantial preference for sustainable landscaping. CII’S Indian Green Building Council has declared that India has achieved a 5 billion sq feet green building footprint.
Let’s understand how you can join this global phenomenon and more specifically, delve deep into how sustainable landscaping can be applied to your residential complex. We have jotted down a few cost-effective landscaping ideas but before that:
What is sustainable landscaping?
In simple terms, sustainable landscaping (also known as Green Landscaping or Eco- friendly Landscaping) means an organic, planted environment that takes care of itself over a long period of time without excessive care or expenditure. It takes into account local climate, temperature, resources, ecology and mimics the natural processes of Mother Nature, reducing the use of pesticides and negative environmental impact.
Features of sustainable landscaping
Green landscaping for residential buildings is characterised by the following:
- Low maintenance and operational cost
- Better air quality
- Efficient energy and water usage
- Reusing and recycling waste
- Reduced soil and water pollution
- Protection of local ecology
- Attractive and aesthetic ambiance
- Increased property value
Methods for Sustainable Landscaping
Ideally, a high-performance green building is designed strategically at the site planning stage from the developer’s end. However, there are several easy-to-adopt methods a gated society can consider to incorporate sustainable landscaping in their apartment buildings.
1. Xeriscaping
Suited for all ecosystems and ideal for water-scarce areas, xeriscaping is one of the most sustainable ways to grow an eclectic and visually pleasing garden. This method uses the lowest water consuming plants, perennials, and shrubs (different texture, color, height) and reduces irrigation needs by 50% compared to a regular landscape. Mulching (a protective surface made of coconut, grass, stones, etc) goes a long way to retain water. Club together plants with similar water requirements and research drought resistant plants. Your best bets are native wildflowers, cacti, lavender, prairie grasses.
2. Composting
Decomposing organic waste to fertilize your garden is as green as one can go provided one gets over the cringe factor in the favor of the environment (as one should). Research shows that composting reduces irrigation needs by 60 to 70% and lowers soil erosion by 70 to 80%, boosting plant growth while being cost-effective.
Use a soil testing kit from your local nursery to determine compost use for balanced pH. Get started with a compost pile for your building if space and common consensus allows. If you prefer not to make your own compost, buy organic bulk compost from farmers or nurseries.
3. Native Plant Garden
It is common sense to invest in native species of plants, trees, and shrubs that are well adapted to the local climate and can bloom in all seasons. They have grown acclimated to rain levels in the region and developed resistance to commonly found pests and decay factors in the area. Check with your local specialists to eliminate aggressive or invasive plants that suck the life out of other plants. Exotic or common horticultural plants require heavy maintenance and pest control, unlike the self-sustainable natives.
4. Green Walls and Roofs
Mandated in a few European countries and adopted by most progressive urban builders across the world, also known as ‘living walls and roofs’, these create a synthesis of dramatic landscapes, sound insulation, rainwater absorption, and urban heat island reduction. For a vertical garden, select walls from every building, attach a layer of fabric frame with water retention property as a foundation and set up a drip irrigation and fertilization process. For an extensive or a light green roof that doesn’t require structural changes, use a thin growth foundation that shallow growing plants/grass can survive on and provide significant thermal insulation and shading.
5. Greywater Reuse
This is mildly used water collected from kitchen sinks, washbasins and laundry (excluding toilets). It simply means drained domestic water that contains soap residue, washing machine water, grease, cleaning agents, mild dirt, etc. A pipe connecting such drains to the garden landscapes can be easily installed so as to reduce fresh water consumption. Excess greywater should be disposed of or treated within 24 to 48 hours.
6. Bioswale/Bioretention Ponds
Along with building streets, parking lots and inside the garden, create an excavated path called a bioswale which is lined by grass, plants, perennials (yarrow, berry, sage, wild grass) and has mild slopes on the sides. During rainfall as the water rushes through, it eliminates pollutants in the water such as silt, metals, plastic, inorganic materials which are blocked by the plants and later decompose in the soil. Once the water moves through the slope, it can be retained in depressed formations on the ground known as bioretention ponds. This prevents rainwater run-off and reduces pressure on stormwater sewage while recharging groundwater.
7. Use Homemade/Natural Pesticides
The best pesticides/insecticides are safe and non-toxic for the plants and keep only the bugs away. But even those should be used as a last resort. We recommend using Neem oil spray, soap spray, oil spray, salt spray and onion, and garlic spray.
8. Go Green with the No-Mow Movement
Break up with your golf course grass lawn that is constantly thirsty for water, needs heavy pesticides and is stubbornly high maintenance. Instead blend together more eco-friendly and stunning styles like wildflower garden, Zen Rock Garden, English cottage garden, and butterfly garden.
As an added measure, you can aid green landscaping with solar-powered tools and gear instead of diesel or electric devices to conserve electricity.
There are only benefits to going green. Your outdoor areas will look, feel and smell astonishingly fresh. Personalized landscaping will set your building apart from tailored traditional complexes. The beautiful groundcovers will attract birds, butterflies and help pollination while reducing toxins in the air naturally. Any gated community that gives back to nature and the society at large is at once perceived as a pioneering entity that creates meaningful change and leads by example.
We’ve partnered with your favourite online delivery partners to ensure that you and your community receive background-verified details of the executive. No more fake entries and quicker deliveries for all MyGate users!
What is Validated Entries?
Whenever you order a delivery/cab, Validated Entries ensures the right delivery executive and cab driver (assigned by their company) is reaching you, thereby making your society more secure.
Delivery and cab companies who are part of the Validated Entries list provide information about their delivery executive/cab driver assigned to you, and we empower the security guards at your society gate to validate the entry with the information provided. This ensures that you get an extra layer of security and convenience on your delivery/cab orders.
Note that this works for every order from our partner companies. The delivery executive’s entry is valid only for one visit during the time period that your order is expected to arrive at your place.
How does it work?
1. You order a delivery/cab service.
2. If the delivery/cab company falls in the MyGate validated partner list, they provide information to MyGate about the delivery executive/cab driver who is assigned to come to your society.
3. When the delivery executive/cab driver reaches society gate, MyGate validates his authenticity by using his phone number, photo & vehicle number that is shared by the delivery/cab company.
4. Validated executives get entry inside the society. You are notified on MyGate when they check-in.
For Validated Entries, explicit approval on MyGate is not requested from you for every entry (since it is confirmed that you are expecting the delivery/cab). You can provide a one-time approval to provide seamless entry for selected validated partners by turning on the switch against the company that you want to use this feature for.
What are the benefits?
Higher security: Validated Entries are provided only for the delivery executive/cabs that their companies assign to your society based on your order. Since this information comes directly from the delivery/cab companies, there is zero chance of wrong entry. This also prevents any potential impersonification/fake entries to your society.
Faster entries: For Validated Entries, you do not need to approve every time you get a delivery. Instead, you have the option to provide a one-time approval to provide seamless entry for selected validated partners. The delivery executives/cab drivers will get a quick entry.
What if a wrong person tries to make an entry in the name of a validated partner?
The security guard at your society gate is provided with the details of the delivery executive/cab driver who is expected to come, based on the information that the delivery/cab company has provided.
When the delivery person’s phone number is entered in the MyGate guard app, entry approval will be provided only if the same information as provided by the delivery/cab company is entered. The delivery executive/cab driver’s photo provided by their company will be displayed on the MyGate app, and the security guard will verify this with the person who has turned up at the gate before providing entry.
How do you get to know about my cab service request or delivery order?
As part of our constant effort to increase security at MyGate societies, we have partnered with large delivery & cab companies to provide us information about delivery executive/cab driver to verify them at the gate. The information shared includes delivery executive/cab driver details such as phone, name, and customer flat number.
We identify that you have made a cab/delivery order based on this information, and validates these entries at gate.
Please note that this works only for delivery/cab companies partnered with MyGate. No information about your order or payment is accessed by MyGate.
What do you do with this data that you collect? What other data of mine have you collected?
The data shared by our validated partner firms are same as the information collected on the MyGate app during a usual visitor entry.
Only the delivery executive details such as phone, name, and customer flat number are provided by the validated partners, which helps us to identify the right society and user. No other information about your order or payment is accessed by MyGate.
Do you provide any of my data (flat, other delivery details, etc.) to these validated partners?
We do not provide any information to our validated partners about the user. The only information we provide is about the approval status of any delivery request (whether you approved the entry or not).
Gated communities with a high population density are at increased risk from the Coronavirus. We at MyGate have put together precautionary measures Gated Communities should be taking in case of an emergency situation. We are sharing it with you so that we can collectively fight the situation. Feel free to use the document for your internal preparations. Please share your feedback. Stay safe and healthy.
View Emergency Response PlanAs an organisation committed to ensuring the privacy and security of user information, we are happy to announce that all our apps now follow GDPR guidelines. This means that your society and its residents can enjoy all the privacy protections laid out by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), considered the gold standard for data privacy standards the world over.
Our decision to enable GDPR for our societies has also made us compliant with the Indian Data Privacy Bill, 2019, which is still before a parliamentary committee. This means that societies that opt to adhere to GDPR guidelines (which we highly recommend) also ensures compliance with upcoming law in India.
We do hope you appreciate the effort behind these initiatives as it makes us among the only B2C apps built for an Indian audience with such strong data privacy controls. The commitment to ensuring user privacy is ingrained in the culture here at MyGate and we assure you that this is only the beginning.
Changes we’ve made to follow GDPR guidelines
1. Visitors need not share phone number
To gain entry to a society, the name and flat number is all that is required of a guest. This means that residents will be able to create invites without entering a contact number. The Mygate Guard App will also no longer require a phone number to be added to authorise guest entry. The RWA will have the ability to opt for this feature.
Only Name Required: Visitors no longer need to share their phone number at the gate.
Note: This only applies to persons seeking to enter as guests and not those seeking to enter with a commercial purpose, as the law places greater data demands on this cohort.
2. All personal data will be masked
The data shared on the Mygate apps (user and guard) have always been available for perusal by those designated as society administrators. To comply with the Data De-identification sub-clause of the Security Safeguards obligation in the aforementioned bill, all of this information will now be masked on the Mygate dashboard. The RWA will have the ability to opt out of this feature; however, we urge you to follow through on this soon-to-be obligation.
3. Residents will have access to the data log
Particularly with regard to personal data, people prefer to be in the know. It builds trust, both in the RWA as well as a data fiduciary like Mygate. It is also in line with the ‘Requirement of notice for collection or processing of personal data’ obligation mentioned in the bill.
This is why we are enabling a complete data access log for residents on the app, where they will be able to view who viewed their personal data and when. Both the RWA as well as (in rare instances) Mygate will be required to share the purpose of viewing this data.
Open access logs: Users will now know if their data has been accessed.
4. Auto-deletion of visitor data
All entry and exit data will be deleted from Mygate systems after 60 days by default. The RWA will have the option to reset this to 120 days or 180 days, but no longer. Once deleted, even Mygate will not be able to retrieve past data. This is to satisfy the requirements of the proposed bill, which states that ‘the data fiduciary shall not retain any personal data beyond the period necessary to satisfy the purpose for which it is processed and shall delete the personal data at the end of the processing’.
Periodic deletion: You can choose the duration for which you hold visitor data.
5. Right to be forgotten
Residents can choose for their personal data to be deleted. Mygate will seek the society’s approval, post which resident information would be deleted from all places (except financial records).
Wipe out data: Any user can request that they be forgotten.
In taking these steps, it is our endeavour to be clear and transparent in our handling of information and help you, as the RWA, to remain trusted stewards of resident and society data.
We are now ready to enable these guidelines for all our societies, including yours. All you need to do is, let your Mygate representative know that you are willing to opt-in.
We look forward to your feedback and suggestions. We also invite you to view our updated Privacy Policy, which reflects the changes made in the app and mentioned above.