The Ugly Indian (TUI) is an inspired community in its truest sense. One of the forerunners of large-scale citizen movement to clean up the streets of Bangalore, they have inspired large groups of people to take ownership of their locality and do their bit. It was only a matter of time before it picked up.
Now the movement seems to have touched most of the educated elite in Bangalore. Several TUI-inspired spotfixing groups are getting formed across various localities of Bangalore.
The groups that are currently in operation are:
- Whitefield Rising: All areas from Kundalahalli to ITPL
- Banaswadi Rising: Kammanahalla-Kasturi Nagar-Lingarajapuram-Banaswadi
- Koramangala Rising: Koramangala-Ejipura
- Indiranagar Rising: Indiranagar-Domlur-Thippasandra
- Jayanagar Rising: Jayanagar and vicinity
Banaswadi Rising reclaims a footpath near the Old Nilgiri’s Store in Kammanahalli. Pic courtesy: The Ugly Indian
A mail from The Ugly Indian stated, ‘You may have noticed that several TUI-Inspired Local Spotfixing Groups (called Risings) are forming across Bangalore. This is the future. TUI will do fewer spotfixes – unless they are large fixes that matter to the city’s image – and future fixes will be done by local groups.’
They have also asked interested citizens to join the local group or Rising that is most convenient to them. If you are interested in joining any of the groups above, you can fill this form, and you will receive spotfix invitations from the group.
The first such Rising group to be formed, Whitefield Rising, though started for a different reason, is now involved in helping solve various problems of the community, including waste segregation, planting trees etc. It is also involved in helping the underprivileged people, such as housemaids, garbage collectors etc.
The first spot fix undertaken by the community saw the participation from The Ugly Indian. Now the community is undertaking spot fixes on its own.
They are also positive that ‘more Risings will form in the weeks to come. If you’d like to start a ‘Rising’ in your area, you can write a mail to tuiinspired@gmail.com.
This is not a trend that is picking up in Bangalore alone. Citizen groups across the country have been inspired by The Ugly Indian. Youth Towards Socialism, a Bhopal based NGO, took to the streets to clean MP Nagar, a locality where many corporate organizations are situated. The Assocham Ladies League along with school children, fixed a glaring black spot opposite Mai Nand Kaur Gurudwaras.
If this is the future, it does seem very bright indeed!