I’m Parag from Pune, India. Google local guide has been a excellent platform to create new places and improve google maps. I have been using Google Mapmaker earlier to add new places, create routes and segments, marking the boundaries of area, villages, cities etc. It was open to public those days. Its been more than 15 years I’m using Google Maps and trying to contribute my bit to improve the users experience. World is changing so fast, people used to travel using printed maps in hand, missing all those exits and taking de-routes… with absolutely no help!! Then came the era of GPS device maps; that was a revolution but often needs updated maps to be downloaded and it was not easy.
When Smart Phones surfaced and everyone is holding one… it was only Google Maps!! And I’m happy to see where Google Maps is now compared to what I see it first time… And I’m always motivated because even though Mapmaker is being retired I still see the roads, places, areas, boundaries that I had created some 15 years are still the same… that’s the most interesting thing!! 
I wish all the good luck to Google Maps team… (please bring back the mapmaker though).