Celebrity SpotFix - Sachin Goes Spotfixing!

"SACHIN goes spotfixing! This is true Bandra Reclamation!
Working from 430-630am to avoid traffic problems, Sachin has raised the bar. Not just symbolic sweeping for a photo-op, but real hard work for several hours - debris & weed clearing, urine-soaked mud removal, wall painting, bench & pot placement - all to reclaim a Bandra footpath. Isn't this wonderful? Why don't you go out and do the same ? This is one activity where you can, perhaps, dare to be as good as Sachin!" ~ The Ugly Indian

"The footpath on the road opposite the Bandra Reclamation Bus Depot was not being used by pedestrians as it was dumped with litter and garbage and covered with wild growth. In fact, the footpath was being misused as a place to answer nature’s call!!

With a team of friends who volunteered with me, we started early in the morning to ensure minimal disruption to public and motorists. With broomsticks, spade (fauda), mattock (kudal), we started our contribution towards the Swachh Bharat initiative. Within an hour, we were joined by some rickshaw drivers who were curiously watching us till then. As the sun was rising, some locals also joined our efforts. Then came our friendly chaiwala, offering tea to the entire team. After two hours of continuous efforts, we still were far from half done. The wild growth needed special attention and we decided to get some help during the day. It was also decided we needed to beautify the place so that locals are encouraged to maintain the footpath

The following morning we had to clean the dump and litter which had been dumped during the previous day. It was frustrating but also indicated the reality of the challenge that this endeavour was going to face.

After the clean up, we decided to paint the compound wall adjoining the footpath. We also coordinated with the local municipal corporator, who was enthusiastic in his response to put up plants, benches and solar lighting. The Mumbai Police also extended its support by ensuring that no illegal parking happens along the footpath.

Please do watch the video which captures the effort of the team on film. The stretch seems small but the effort was immense! I am committed to do more and urge all of you to do your bit in making #CleanIndia a reality.


Swachh Bharat Hi Sach Bharat Hai!"  

~ Sachin Tendulkar

Watch the amazing Spotfix video by Sachin Tendulkar

TUI SpotFix! - Ugly Corner Transformation in Defence Colony!

Location - Vacant Plot in Defence Colony

The ugly open-air urinal in the vacant plot gets a facelift.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF SPOTFIXING THE UGLY CORNER IN DEFENCE COLONY

TUI Corporate Spotfix! - By Thoughtworks @ Koramangala

Location : Thoughtworks, Koramangala 3rd block

The dark side of 24x7 Work Culture - the 24x7 Litter Culture.
The once-a-day street sweeping designed for quiet residential areas cannot handle the software companies with 24x7 high-volume litter generation.

The street opposite the ThoughtWorks office in Koramangala 3rd Block has been a huge mess for years. Some people said 'enough is enough'.  And this is what they did!!





"In this particular instance, the govt does its job of sweeping the street every morning at 9am. That doesn't really help if hundreds of employees of nearby companies litter continuously for the rest of the day. Think how demotivating this could be to the govt sweeper - despite doing what she is supposed to do, she gets blamed. Let's start getting real about who litters and who cleans up. "

~ TUI

TUI Spotfix! - Transforming Defence Colony

Location - Defense Colony


Over 100 Ugly Indians and Defence Colony residents (Decora -Defence Colony Residents Association) came  together to execute dozens of spotfixes (mini and mega) across the length and breadth of Defence Colony.

Spotfixing the wall of Chinmaya Hospital (of CMH Rd fame).

"The guys who did this didn't need to be corporators to do this. Any of us has the power to do this outside our homes - this is a government 'of the people' after all. Each citizen is empowered to clean his own area - it would be better if people started doing that and see the impact!" ~ TUI

Spotfixing a vacant plot, with a boundary wall, used as a garbage dump.
An attempt to make the wall 'looked after'. It has worked. No garbage has come here the past 3 days and all the neighbours are happy with the design. In fact, they were involved in the process of painting the wall. -TUI

Meet Mrs Kapoor, who is 90 years young. She worked for 2 hours on Sunday to fix her street in Defence Colony. What more inspiration do you need to fix your street? -TUI

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF SPOTFIXING DEFENCE COLONY BY RESIDENTS AND UGLY INDIANS

"One has to start somewhere. The good news is that 3 of the Ugly Spots fixed in Defence Colony last Sunday have remained clean for a week now (most residents had given up on their ever getting fixed) - and those that used to create the mess seem to have changed their daily mess-creating behaviour. TUI believes in gradual incremental changes - silent work has been going on behind-the-scenes the past week and there has been a very high level of support (incl from those who created the mess)!" ~ TUI on FB on 21/4/2012

The Chinmaya Mission Hospital Bus parks here every night - earlier it used to park on the roadside and block an entire lane. Not only has the garbage problem been solved, a parking spot has been created (see entire album for 'Before-After pictures).

"The BBMP has used this point as a temporary dumping point for years - but once they saw the work, the Inspector agreed to change his collection methods. This is the way to deal with the BBMP - do not complain - just go out there and do the work quietly, and they rise to the occasion and reciprocate.
there were several households who dumped here everyday taking advantage of the existing dump. TUI volunteers met each resident and aligned their daily dumping schedule with the door-to-door pick up system (which they were not using). There has been 100% compliance the past 2 days. Sincere work is always recognised by all." ~ TUI on FB

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF HOW DEFENCE COLONY RESIDENTS CAME TOGETHER TO FIX GARBAGE DUMPS

TUI Corporate Spotfix! - By Grand Mercure Employees in Koramangala

Location - Grand Mercure Hotel, Koramangala 

The employees of the hotel Grand Mercure, Bangalore came out to beautify the street outside their hotel. 

This vacant plot attracts garbage (note the street dogs), and the tree stump adds to the ugliness of the area. This is a simple, low-cost way of converting an ugly spot into something beautiful.

Meet the SpotFixers from Grand Mercure, Bangalore!

 CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PICTURES OF GRAND MERCURE SPOTFIX IN KORAMANGALA

TUI Corporate Spotfix! - Saving Bagmane Tech Park!

Location - Bagmane Tech Park

30 employees from Sasken, Bagmane Tech Park volunteered to clean the mess outside this tech park and begin saving Bagmane Lake.

Check out the spotfixing videos





After this Initial clean up by Sasken,  20 employees from Dell, HP, Juniper and TI came together to clean up the area around Bagmane lake!


Click here to see more pictures of Saving Bagmane Lake



And this is the end result!!!



"Mar 30: Bagmane Lake cleaned of all cups by Sasken employees. Several dustbins installed, and clearing system setup.
No enforcement imposed - deliberately.

April 20: Over next 3 weeks (or 15 work days), over 8,000 cups landed here. That works out to about 500 thrown into the lake per day!
Daily sales of chai/coffee cups: 5000 (across 8 shops) - so about 10% of customers threw their cups in the lake. 90% do not.

April 23rd: Just 20 cups were found at 5pm. And promptly cleaned up. So the place looks totally clean on Tuesday morning.

Conclusion: Of 5,000 cups available to throw in the lake on Monday, just 20 got there - down from 500 earlier. About 96% of those who used to throw in the lake seem to have stopped.
Let's see what happens on Tuesday. We suspect the number to be about 20 again. We think that's acceptable...for now.

In ANY group or society, around 5% of the members violate the rules EVEN when fines are enforced. In a self-governing situation, it is normally 10% or more.

TUI is very pleased with the 96% behaviour change. If this sustains at this level for the next 5 days, there is serious cause for satisfaction as a SpotFix well done.

While aiming for 100% conversion is desirable, we don't think it will happen overnight. Let's recognise dramatic change when we see it. "

~ TUI

Some questions answered by TUI on Facebook.

Q: How are the cups disposed off after cleaning?
A: ALL the litter from the 12 shops is collected and kept in an 'unofficiaal dump' in the corner, from where it is picked up by the city authorities (BBMP), and taken to the Landfill sites. All the shopkeepers are technically illegal (as they are across India) so they do not get civic services from the city - however they have found an informal way of getting the garbage collected. We hope to find a way to formalise this. ~ TUI

Q:  Hope the near by company people will respect the work done by Common Citizen. Where is BBMP ?
A: As this entire stretch of shops is 'illegal' they get no formal BBMP support. This is the tragedy of urban India - essential services like street vendors are illegal and hence get no formal civic services support - is fact, this is the crux of the 'garbage problem' in cities like Bangalore. ~ TUI

Q: Please also provide dustbins there it looks like employees of the tech park themselves are dumping plastic cups?
A: Yes, the tech park employees are 100% responsible for this mess. This stretch is used ONLY by employees who work in Bagmane, and come here for tea-and-cigarette breaks. This is why we are calling on them to come out and cleanup. It's a real shame that this is tolerated. While 80% of them are conscious and use the bins provided (yes, there are dozens of bins there now), there are still many who nonchalantly toss their trash into the lake. ~ TUI

TUI Corporate Spotfix! - By Employees of Sasken!

Location - Inner ring Road, near Sasken Corporate HQ

Inspired by the Spotfixes by Dell and NetApp Employees near their offices, 40 Sasken Employees come together to clean up the road leading to their Office HQ in Bangalore.






"The neighbours have been involved in this spotfix. Some have worked with their hands, some have provided logistical support. Spotfixes always involve the neighbours! And passers by too! Otherwise they don't sustain" ~ TUI

 If you are interested to do a similar Spotfix near your office in Bangalore with your co-workers, please write to theuglyindian@gmail.com

Click here to view videos of other Spotfixes by Corporates!

I Can Spotfix! - All is Well @ Dell - Part 2

Location - Ring road, near Dell Office

75 employees of Dell had come together  with TUI to spotfix the footpath near their office.

Check out  - TUI Corporate Spotfix by Dell Employees

18 of these volunteers wanted to do a bit more, they planned a spotfix to fix the median and another small stretch of the footpath near Dell.

I Can Spotfix! - @Raheja Residency, Koramangala.

Location - Raheja Residency, 3rd block, Koramangala

Here is another TUI inspired spotfix. 
75 residents of all ages come together to clean up their surroundings in Raheja residency, Koramangala.

The Inside Story from the Raheja Residency SpotFix (as provided by one of the fixers on Facebook):
1. Make a street map

2. Check with BBMP Waste Collector which houses don't give him waste

3. Observe thru the day who actually dumps and confirm waste collector info

4. Plan the Fix

5. Go house to house inviting all for the Fix (those who throw and those who dont) - even if they dont turn up, they know something... is a foot

6. Get construction and heavy debris cleared

7. Get masonry work done

8. Do the SpotFix

9. Go house to house and tell them not to throw waste but leave it for morning pick-up

10. Accompany morning pick-up, ring the bell and ask for waste

11. Keep doing till habit formed..work in progress yet..time will tell. but can be done

Update : Some residents come together again the following weekend to further improve on the previous spotfix. Take a look and hope this inspires you to do something similar in your neighborhood!




Related Reads:

I Can Spotfix! - Temple Cross Residents, Koramangala

I Can Spotfix! - Embassy Tranquil, Koramangala

TUI Corporate Spotfix - @EGL by NetApp Employees!

Location - Embassy Golf Links , Inner Ring Road

Another Corporate Spotfix !
Inspired by the Dell Kolaveri Spotfix - 35 employees of NetApp come together to fix a minefield (that passes off as a footpath) outside Embassy Golf Links!

I Can Spotfix! - Urinal Wall Fix @KR Hosptial, Mysore by MYF

Location - Vishweshwariah circle, KR Hospital, Mysore



'Mysore Youth Forum' come together again to do a spotfix at Vishweshwariah circle, near  KR hosptial, in Mysore.

Click here to check the pictures of this Spotfix 

Related Reads:

I Can Spotfix! - Mission Hospital, Mysore by MYF!

I Can Spotfix! - Spotfixing @Koramangala by Ecofreaks!

Location - Koramangala

Ecofreaks - A group of volunteers spotfix different spots in Koramangala!!

Check below the Before & After pictures of their projects!

Spotfix -1 by Ecofreaks in Koramangala

Spotfix -2 by Ecofreaks in Koramangala

Spotfix - 3 by Ecofreaks in Koramangala

TUI Corporate Spotfix - by Dell Employees

Location - Dell office Building

The Empoloyees of Dell come together to fix up the space outside their office building. Check out the videos.

Did the SpotFix survive? Are the tereBins being used? See this album for the 48-hr inspection report.

"Office SpotFix anyone?
If you'd like to do a SpotFix outside your office (with your colleagues), write to us at theuglyindian@gmail.com. Only in Bangalore. See how Dell did it." ~ TUI

I Can SpotFix! - @Koramangala by Temple Cross Residents

A few residents of Koramangala 3rd Block decided to do their own Spotfix.
They asked for (and received) 30 tereBins from TUI, and then went about fixing the street in front of their homes to offer a suitable reception to the tereBins!!


TUI says this is their best birthday gift to date!



30 tereBins were whisked into Koramangala by residents concerned about the litter on the streets of 3rd Block. They are all installed and working away 24x7.

"To all those who have written in asking "What can I do on my street?" - well, THIS is what you can do! Just do it. Get a few brooms, some cans of paint and a 3-4 committed people, and the rest will follow. Don't waste time in meetings or forming groups. Just go to the hardware shop, buy the stuff and get down to it. Looking forward to more such examples of actual work done - send us pictures or videos and we will showcase it here and on Facebook." - TUI

Click here to know how you can adopt a TereBin!

TUI Spotfix - Agony @ Oracle

Location - Near Oracle, in Tavarekere Road

Here's why the cows (& donkeys & dogs) come to Oracle:)

Click here to see more photos of the AGONY near ORACLE and the Preparation Work Done by TUI!


Here is the video of the DUMP in Graphic Detail!




15 Ugly Indians from all over Bangalore spent 3hrs on a Saturday morning to fix this place! Check the video below.




"Most of those who dumped here everyday have stopped - as we met with all of them and they saw us doing the work. TUI has met several cow-owners here. The cows are fed at home and sent out 'for exercise' and also because there is simply no place to keep them 'at home' (which is a narrow street in a congested area of SG Palya). They do NOT survive on the garbage - these are just extras for them. The cows have SEVERAL options in this part of Bangalore- the Dump opp Oracle was just a little snack they enjoyed everyday. Most cows walk several kilomteres everyday doing urban grazing - if TUI fixes one spot, there are several others within walking distance. People also feed the cows leftover food, and most fruit stall owners keep the banana peels for the cows. The cows are smart - the food will reach them somehow. And fyi, there are 6 large dumps on the cows' daily route, and this is the 7th and last....so, for the present, the cows will not overeat."
~ TUI on FB


Photo taken on Friday, Dec 2 2011 at 8am.

Garbage does not come here anymore. It is no longer a pickup point for the BBMP lorry.
 In BBMP lingo, this 'point' has been 'cancelled', and they are happy about it ~ TUI

 Click here for more pictures of Bovine Agony @ Oracle

The Agony At Oracle is finally over! Check the final part of this fix!



The choice of plant was determined by its cow-proof-ness. This is duranta, a common hedge plant - very cheap (Rs 4/sapling) and durable and not eaten by cows. The garden is still there 2 days after planting and after several cow visits. Rats, of course, are the biggest enemy - and without upsetting rat-lovers on this group - we can say that this is one animal that is extremely hard to outwit without using brutal methods (like broken glass and poison). ~ TUI

A press photographer from Udayavani - Kannada newspaper  seems to have sneaked up on some UIs fixing an Ugly Wall on Taverekere Road!



Now, on the opposite side. What's wrong with this picture?
Modern building, wonderful landscaping - but do you find anything wrong or ugly here?

 Check out the video to see what TUI did to this spot!

"There is a Cobbler obstructing the footpath walk,  these are some of the ground realities that armchair theorists never fully appreciate. On the Indian street, one has to 'go with the flow' and carry everyone along. The solutions will never be 100% perfect, and sometimes it is better if they are not, as that may be unsustainable." ~ TUI on FB

TUI Spotfix - Metro Station dump on MG Road

Location - MG Road

TUI's  little gift to Bangalore to celebrate the launch of the Metro!
Eliminating this Ugly Spot in front of the MG Road station.

                                                                          

Before



After



Click here to Read the complete pictorial Story in fixing The Metro Station dump on MG Road and  give your Feedback

"Why do we do what we do?  What's in it for us?'
See this short video of the MG Road Metro SpotFix for the answer." - TUI

"Moral of the Story:


Just because a 'problem' hasn't been solved for 15 years, doesn't mean it cannot be solved.


It needs one person with the right attitude who is determined to see it through till the end. Sometimes it happens in one day, sometimes longer. But no force on earth can stop one person - who is willing to make the solution his/her problem. And approaches it with commonsense.


All other stakeholders rally around such a person.
Everyone is waiting for someone else to step forward and take charge of common problems.


The only rules are:
1. Do not step on anyone's toes.
2. Be sincere and genuine.
3. Make problem-solving the focus - not any ideology.
4. Kaam Chalu Mooh Bandh


Hope you enjoyed the story.

If you feel you can do the same with a spot near your home/office, hope you get some pointers here. "


 - TUI

TUI Corporate Spotfix - Nightmare on Museum Road! by CDC Software

Location - Museum Road

TUI pays tribute to Sir M Vishweshwaraih on Engineer's Day. Watch these videos and see how!!.

I Can Spotfix! - Embassy Tranquil, Koramangala

"'The Ugly Indian' is not a formal Team or organisation. Those of us who think we are Ugly Indians get together and fix spots that trouble us. You can do the same - whichever city you are in."" - TUI

Some Koramangala residents decided to SpotFix outside their apartment complex. They say they were inspired by some of the videos posted by the TUI, and wanted to try it out themselves.



 Do you think you can also do what these Koramangala residents did in your own city, locality?

Spotfix 20 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 20)

Location - Residency Road, Bishop Cotton School

According to TUI, this was one of their most challenging spot fixes.  Please watch part-15 here and take a little time out to watch the entire 18 part series on Youtube




Update!

This garden was created on July 22 2011 - is 80 days old
and doing well. There are assigned people who maintain the entire place - everyday.


"All spotFixes also involve installing some sort of maintenance." - TUI

Spotfix 12 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 12)

Location - Junction of Brigade Road and Magrath Road.

Thousands of people walk here everyday on the way from Brigade Road to to Garuda Mall. It is a urinal, garbage dump and total eyesore.

The spot was fixed by a few Ugly Indians in December, 2010. A temporary job, but it worked for a month. Then the Namma Metro soil testing team dug up the place for 2 weeks, destroyed the garden, and when they left the Spot lapsed back to its original filthy state.The Ugly Indians were back with a more permanent fix. With new tools, materials, skills and determination. A work still  in progress, but there is a distinct improvement. ~ TUI

Click here to see more pictures of this spotfix on Facebook and give your feedback.