Proposal: A Student’s Mission to Map the Heart of Surat – (Level 5 Guide)

[Shobha11]

Dear Google India Team,

My name is Dax Suhagiya, and I am a 12th-grade Commerce student from Surat, Gujarat. I am currently preparing for my board exams, but I am writing to you with a heartfelt mission I have planned for my city once my exams end in March.

The Problem: A Missing Digital Map in a Busy City

I live in Yogichowk, one of the densest and busiest parts of Surat. I have noticed that while our streets are full of hardworking shopkeepers, their businesses are often invisible on Google Maps. Many shops have no photos, incorrect timings, or zero helpful reviews.

My Mission: Shop-by-Shop Excellence. (From March 2026)

During my school vacation, I am committing to a full-time voluntary project to map the entire Yogichowk and Hira Baugh areas. I will visit every single shop to provide:

Exact Timings: Verifying opening and closing hours so no customer ever finds a closed door.

Inside Shop Photos: Clicking clear photos of the interiors, products, and price lists so users know exactly what to expect.

Detailed Reviews: Writing honest, high-quality reviews (200+ characters) covering every service they offer. It will help people and enhancing you mapping accross surat.

My Struggle & My Request:

I have already reached Level 5 (637 points) because I love helping people. However, I am currently using my mother’s phone (Shobha Suhagiya) to do all my work. As a student, I don’t have my own device, and her phone cannot capture the 4K videos and high-quality inside photos that a dense area like ours needs. It is hard to show the beauty of a shop when the camera is blurry.

I am asking if Google would consider supporting me with a Google Pixel or a camera-centric phone. I am not looking for a gift; I am looking for a tool of service so I can spend my vacation making Surat the best-mapped city in India. I promise to work with 100% honesty and consistency. My mission to help others people like buyyer, foreigners travel in surat. Here is attached picture of my current badge , helping me for hardware.

My Details:

Name: Dax Suhagiya (Son of Shobha Suhagiya

Local Guide Level: 5

Location: Yogichowk, Surat, Gujarat

I am just a student with a dream to help his city. I hope you will consider my request and help me bring Surat to the world.

With respect

and hope,

Dax Suhagiya.

[TusharSuradkar]

Hi Dax

A warm welcome to Local Guides Connect

To protect your privacy, please remove your phone number and email from your post.

Meanwhile, please introduce yourself to the community here:
https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t/introduce-yourself-january-2026/500407

[Shaunak]

Hi @Shobha11 a very warm welcome to this community.

As @TusharSuradkar Ji, mentioned kindly remove your personal information to protect your privacy.

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @Shobha11

Nice post which is well worded.

I’m not a representative of Google, but I have seen several pleads for free phones etc here on Connect, but none of them have been successful. So please don’t hold your breath. It is unlikely that a Googler will step forward and respond to your request.

I’m sorry.

[ErmesT]

Hi @Shobha11 , welcome to Connect,
Like @MortenCopenhagen , I think it will be quite impossible for Google to send you a Pixel, or any other phone. There are more than 500 million Local Guides in the world, and almost everyone of us would love to have a free new phone.
In any case we don’t need to have a4K resolution for taking great photos and videos. The most important things to keep in mind are:

• The proper framing of the photo
• A bit of edit for the photo to to stand over the media. There is an editor directly in Maps for this that does a great job
• The relevance of the subject

Just to provide a few example:

• This video has been posted three times, and in two different places
  
  
  
  This is a double violation of the program, and the penalization for this is the ban from the Local Guides. Well, it will be hard for google to believe what you say if you post this kind of content. Please delete two of them

@Shobha11

I promise to work with 100% honesty and consistency

However the big problem is the quality of the video itself, that is not properly showing the place. Here in Connect you can find a lot of Local Guides happy to help you to improve your way to take videos. Like @Rednewt74 , @TerryPG , @PaulPavlinovich , just to mention a few

• Photos. The subject and the Framing are, as I said, a key element, together with the proper light, to take great photos. I’m sure @MortenCopenhagen can help you about Storefront, but I also want to mention @TravellerG, with a search in Connect you may be able to find a lot of post about taking and editing photos. Also please avoid redundancy and remember to respect the privacy of the people.
  How are the 3 photos here giving additional information about this place?
  
  

How are the 2 photos here below helpful to understand the place?

How can a video that is showing for most of the time feet walking on a stairs and the floor of the building help others to understand how a place is?

This is where, in my opinion, you have to work. All I mentioned is not “phone related”, it’s just about the person who hold the phone.

Do yo want to try?

[TravellerG]

Hello fellow LG @Shobha11
Our respected @ErmesT Ji has explained everything in detail…just follow those points, you will be able to help many people through Google Maps and LG Connect…

Thanks dear Ermest Ji for remembering my name & tagging me in your post - highly appreciate it.
Most sincerely with regards,

[DorianMessmer]

Ehi Dax, questa è davvero una grande iniziativa! Mi piace tantissimo come stai prendendo in mano la situazione per rendere Surat più accessibile a tutti. La tua missione di aiutare le imprese locali a ottenere maggiore visibilità è davvero ammirevole, e sono sicuro che farà una grande differenza. Per Penalty Shoot Out quanto riguarda la tua richiesta, suona assolutamente ragionevole – una fotocamera migliore ti aiuterà sicuramente a catturare immagini e video più chiari e di qualità superiore. Sarebbe fantastico se Google potesse supportare i tuoi sforzi. Continua così, stai facendo un impatto positivo incredibile sulla tua comunità!