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 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 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 Spot Fix - Rescuing a Telecom Pillar

Location - Central Bangalore District



To remove posters, first soak the surface in water (use a brush, sponge or a wet cloth).
Let the water soak for about 5 mins. This makes it easier to peel off/brush off the posters.
Buy a putty blade from any hardware store (costs Rs 5). It is the most effective weapon against posters.
And start scraping. It is a laborious job and does damage to the paint surface. The stronger the adhesive used, the longer it takes.
The putty blade helps in removing dried paan stains too

Go to any paint shop, and buy 1 litre of "Smoke Grey" or "Nickel Grey" oil paint. Mix with thinner, and start painting.

We use Asian Paints - it costs about Rs 150 for 1 litre - and that is sufficient for 1 pillar of this size. Thinner costs about Rs 40 and a decent brush about Rs 100.
 the basic cost of materials to transform a pillar of this size is under Rs 300. Sweat and fire-in-belly comes free, of course. And the brush can be reused (if washed and stored properly).
The impact of a fresh coat of paint is quite dramatic.

Simple removing posters will not do. It is not enough of a deterrent for the poster-putter.
The surface needs to look like new, like someone cares about it.

~ TUI

Click here to see in Pictures TUI Spotfixing a Telecom pillar


Here are a few  more pictures of TUI rescuing Telecom Pillars. 
SpotFixing a few BESCOM boxes 

Spotfixing area around BESCOM box

Spotfixing BESCOM box by KC Das Employees


TUI currently has rescued and continues to maintain 30 BESCOM boxes in and around Church St.It takes Rs 300 and 2 hours to fix a Telecom Pillar, Will you try this in your area?

TUI Birthday & Treasure hunt

The Ugly Indian turned 1 on Sat, Nov 12th 2011! That's 52 weekends of SpotFixing!
They celebrated on Saturday morning  with a Treaure Hunt in the MG Road/Church Street area. 

So what was The Ugly Indian Treasure Hunt?
Participants had to take 12 pictures of Ugly Spots on 4kms of footpath in Bangalore's city centre (anywhere on MG Road, Church Street, Brigade Road). The Ugliest pictures win.

The minimum requirement to be eligible for a prize was
- 2 photos of paan stains on walls
- 2 photos of garbage dumped on the road/footpath- 1 photo of a missing/broken Footpath slab
- 1 photo of a man urinating on a wall
- 1 photo of a stinking place where people urinate frequently

Participants had 4 hours to 'inspect' 4 kms of footpath to find this treasure.






Click here for more pictures of the Treasure Hunt

Lest we Forget how the 'Treasure Hunt' was one year ago - in 2010

Take a look at the Treasure Hunt competition Entries!

And the Result??

"The Winner of The Ugly Indian Treasure Hunt is the city of Bangalore/Bengaluru!
It successfully passed the 'Inspection Test' of over 50 meticulous treasure hunters - who spent 2 hours inspecting every inch of footpath.


It's true. Brigade Rd, MG Rd & Church St passed this tough test on Saturday.
- There are no open garbage dumps
- There are no missing footpath slabs
- There is no public urination (as there are WonderLOOs)
- There are no paan stains on walls (people still spit paan but it is directed into the 100+ tereBins available. Any stains that hit a wall are immediately cleaned or painted over by vigilant Ugly Indians).

It's something to be proud of.
TUI will work hard at maintaining it this way.
Yes, there are leakages and you will see the odd paan stain - but they will not survive."

~ TUI

TUI Birthday - The First spotfix - what got them Started

TUI approaches its FIRST BIRTHDAY on Nov 12th!
 In their own words here is how or what got them started!!

 

What really got us started 1 year ago was seeing this Ugly Spot on Church Street.

We could not understand how this was tolerated in the middle of Church Street (right opp Barton Centre, Amoeba, Ruby Tuesday, Saigon, Shrungar Shopping Centre, Indian Coffee House) - and how everyone we asked threw up their hands and said - it has ALWAYS been like this.

We wondered - why isn't someone doing something about it? Doesn't it matter? This is the city's prime restaurant street, for God's sake!




Then we discovered that there were 6 such large open dumps spread across the 1km long Church Street - that had garbage "23x7". And about 5-6 smaller dumps. They were part of the 'system'. The clearing lorry came at 9am everyday (they were prompt), the place remained clean for 1 hour at most, and then dumping began again. This was 'normal'! Everyone played their part - the dumpers and cleaners, and life went on. And nobody was willing to change it.

Church Street is a windy street - so the whole place looks a mess all day.
We felt that if these 6 Dumps were eliminated, the street would become less dirty.

It seemed like commonsense. It would be easy to criticise this 'spot' fixing approach as a 'Band-aid', but we felt that Some aid was better than No aid. How long should we wait for a Miracle Cure - better to start small, apply band-aids and small spotfixes, and improve the overall health of the street
 .

Click here for more Shocking pictures of Ugly Spots on Church Street taken in 2010.

There are 40 Major Ugly Spots, and another 20 minor spots. On a road that is barely 1 kilometre long.

And after the spot fixes this is how one of the spots look today!

Check out the more of TUI spotfix pictures and videos. 

.....more stories will follow with more posts by TUI....

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 Spot fix - TUI drops in to Spotfix a Playground in Koramangala!

Location - A Playground in Koramangala

A typical public park-cum-playground. Overgrown untended garden, dirty benches, grimy wall and fallen branches creating 'unseen spaces' beyond. Why do we allow these public assets to degenarate like this?

After the TUI spotfix, see the change. All 4 benches are visible and clean, the garden is neat and the pathway seems inviting. All 4 benches are being used and there is a sense of order. Also, note that there is no garbage - the tereBin is being used. And there is now an incentive for the street sweeper to clean this place - it seems worth the effort.

Click here to see more pictures


Watch how a group of 50 Ugly Indians clean up this playground in 4hrs on a Saturday Morning!



This wall has been fixed now, what would you do with it next?

Watch Part 2 of this Spotfix

Do you like these BooBoos? :) Click here to see more pictures and pick your favorite one!

Spotfix 19 - Before and After (Spot Quiz 19) - By Asha & team

Location - Brigade Road

A neglected stretch of road - with expected results. Garbage, debris, urination. The problem is that this is on prime land in the Central Business District (CBD). Why do we tolerate this? It is impossible to walk on this footpath, the stench is unbearable. Pedestrians are forced to walk on the narrow road, where there is heavy traffic.

Ridicule him or pity him?
He is a BMTC bus driver who does the route from Electronic City to city centre. This is the only chance he gets in a 2-hour cycle to relieve himself. And the BMTC or the city does not provide him a decent bathroom.
Over 100 buses stop nearby, and the drivers & conductors have just 5 mins to take a bio-break.
So, should we ridicule him or pity him? Or find a way to provide him dignity with a decent bathroom?

Click here to see more Before Pictures of this Spotfix

Click here to see in Pictures how Asha & team with the help of TUI fixed this spot!

Spotfix on Video - Part 1




Spotfix on Video - Part 2



"People do not pee on walls that look nice and appear to belong to someone. This is ALL about psychology. Physical barriers and signage do not work. If the wall appears neglected, it attracts peeing & garbage. If the wall looks well-painted and there is a sense of order and neatness (and hence lack of privacy), people do not mess it up." - TUI

By cleaning the footpath and painting the wall, the area has attracted regular activity. People walk on the footpath, stand and talk on the phone, come for a smoke - all deterrents to peeing

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

TUI Spotfix - By KC Das Employees

Location -  KC Das Sweet Shop, MG Road

The staff at the iconic KC Das (Bengali Sweet Shop) report an hour early to work to beautify the street in front of their shop. This Ugly BESCOM electricity box has paint peeling off, is full of ugly posters, and is an attractor of filth

It takes an hour of work - for 6-8 people working in turns to fix such a spot.

Click here to see more pictures of this SpotFix on Facebook and give your Feedback.

Spotfix 16 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 16) - By Orange Resorts County Employees

Location - Brigade Road, the part that links St Joseph's Commerce College/St Patricks Complex to Sholay Circle.

This Ugly stretch of Brigade Road invites garbage, street-side drunks and all forms of filth. The shops have been shuttered for years, and nobody really cares about this long stretch of prime land

 Each of these shuttered shopfronts was a unique mess. Notice a fallen lamp-post in front of the last two shops to the left

 There is a semblance of order now - it almost looks nice!
Interestingly, those who eat their lunch on these steps (and drink their rum) clean up after they go. Magically, this place has remained relatively clean for the past several months.

How's that? Passersby seem to like it,  no paan stains or muck comes here now.

Click here to see more pictures from this Spotifx on Facebook and give your Feedback.


Watch this on Video, Spotfixing by the Employees of Orange County Resorts!

Spotfix 13 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 13)

Location - This stretch of Magrath Road sees thousands of pedestrians everyday going between Brigade Rd & Garuda Mall.



This place had to be seen and smelt to be believed - this was a typical shot of how it looked for the past several years. This is accumulated assorted muck (human, plastic and other waste) along with a collapsing brick wall that serves as a 50-feet long public urinal

Some Ugly Indians showed up one morning to attack the garbage....

  

Check out the result ! The best test for a rescued corner is when people stand and linger, smoke/make phone calls.

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

Spotfix 14 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 14)

Location - St.Patrick's Church in Residency Rd

This is the daily scene in front of the historic St Patrick's Church. Built in 1844, it is the spiritual centre for the city's Catholic community. Sadly, there is a civic mess at the main entrance - open dumping, raw meat, overflowing sewage, scavenging animals, an overpowering stench and a total sense of disorder and helplessness. ~ TUI



Now a footpath has been created by TUI, there is a sense of neatness and order, and magically civic behaviour has changed. Garbage is now neatly bagged, the footpath is swept, the plants are watered, people walk safely on the footpath and church-goers were in for a pleasant surprise last Sunday. ~ TUI

THERE IS HOPE! :)

 Click here to see more pictures of the Spotfix on Facebook and give your Feedback.

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.

Spotfix 11 - Before and After (Spot Quiz 11)

Location - Opposite St Patrick's Complex (near Indiana Fast foods), and opposite the War Memorial Park / BMTC Bus Terminus at the end of Brigade Road.



This majestic rain tree opposite St Patrick's Complex (opposite the War Memorial park at the end of Brigade Road, Bangalore) has borne the brunt of its neighbours' poor civic sense for decades. Resigned to being a garbage dump, and braving the occasional fire & smoke from burning, this tree symbolises how our city has changed over the past 30 years



It needed a few Ugly Indians to restore respect and dignity to the tree. Magically, the garbage has stopped coming (those dumping here everyday took the trouble to dump at the official points), and this tree has been smiling now. And the nearby shopowners too, who tend to the new garden where once there were garbage & rats.


This is the only surviving rain tree from a large avenue of trees that lined the entrance to the 19th century St Patrick's Church and the World War I memorial. Surely, it deserves better. Till last week, it was a daily pick-up point on the route of the BBMP Garbage lorry- thankfully, the lorry doesn't need to stop here anymore. ~ TUI

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

Spotfix 10 - Before and After (Spot Quiz 10)

Location - Opposite the Times of India and Wipro offices, on the narrow lane joining MG Road and Church Street (the lane is Rest House Rd)

This wall has been lying untouched for years. It serves as a urinal and garbage dump and is also used as a parking space by the Times Now broadcast vans and cars for TOI and Wipro. Their drivers sit around all day in the muck.

The design is simple, yet striking.

 This is a quick way to transform an ugly wall/transformer in a matter of hours.

Click here for more pictures of this spotfix on Facebook and give your feedback