Complaining about the state of the city is a favourite sport for most Bengalureans, but come time to do something about it, there are few volunteers. One citizen activist group, The Ugly Indian (TGI), however, is putting its money where its mouth is. On Sunday the group ‘spotfixed’ a number of public spaces in Bengaluru to make them fit for their intended use.
TGI describes its ‘spotfixing’ initiative as a measure to solve real problems like cleaning a pavement and making it usable for pedestrians rather than painting a wall for the purpose of beautification.
On July 31, the members of the group cleaned one such pavement in Victoria Layout which was turned into a makeshift garbage dump and urinal.
The group which has the motto of Kaam Chalu Mooh Bandh (Work on, Mouth Shut) also ‘spotfixed’ a portion of Richmond Road.
On Saturday, the group joined hands with the BBMP to clean up two spots in the city, a garbage dump near the Koramangala BDA complex and the area under the Domlur flyover.
The group is active in many cities in India and has been run by volunteers since 2010. It advocates using citizens’ own resources to change the face of India, one ugly spot at a time. The group selects such spots in advance and garners local volunteers via Facebook post.
For its next spotfix, to be conducted next week, TGI has set its eyes on Chennai’s Anna Nagar and is looking for volunteers.