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 in News - BBC Radio Interviews An Ugly Indian

"Kaam Chalu Mooh Bandh is our motto, and we always have declined media interviews. However, we agreed to let a TUI volunteer speak to BBC World Service Radio today on strict condition of anonymity. BBC said that the TUI message needs to go out to their global audience, so we broke our 'silence' for this noble cause!" - TUI




You may also be interested to read,

BBC News - 'Ugly Indians clean up Bangalore

TUI Birthday - A Cartoon Birthday card

A  lovely birthday card for TUI by Jai.

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

I Can Spotfix! - Koramangala playground! - A birthday gift

TUI had neglected to maintain the Big Fix we did in the Koramangala Playground 3 months ago (as their focus had  been CBD), but SOMEONE decided to adopt this Spot.


This story exemplifies the 'power of one' person to make a change. This is inspiring for many of us to go out and 'do something'. Even if it is all by ourselves!

 

READ ON in the links below.

Birthday present for TUI - part 1

Birthday present for TUI - part 2

I Can Spotfix! - Tree fix by Aastha

Location - Bangalore

Aastha Sahai  removes ads/posters from about 15 trees/electricity poles near house in Bangalore! Kudos to her!!

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 Spotfix - Despair in Defence Colony

Location - Defence Colony, Indiranagar

Rahul Dravid once played cricket in this very play ground.
TUI says this is one of the most challenging spotfixes they have done, a very complex and tough one, please take a few minutes to watch this 7 part series.

Part 1 in the series



"These are not easy problems to solve. They are in the public space where the 'public' has no formal authority to act. Planning, preparation and trust building with those who could oppose you - is essential." - TUI

Watch part 2 to part 6 on youtube - Despair in Defence Colony

After 15 days of work..here is part 7 in the series

"The Ugly Indian does not talk to the media - so we appreciate articles like these that are based on actual field research and being on the ground during a spotfix." - TUI