BENGALURU: In two-and-ahalf years, The Ugly Indian (TUI), an anonymous group of citizens with a passion for clearing black spots, has changed the face of the city by trying to reclaim the dead spaces under flyovers.
Starting from October 2016, when they painted the pillars of
Jayadeva flyover, TUI has painted 700
flyover and 300
Metro pillars.
“While Bengaluru has acquired several elevated roads as well as a Metro system over the past few years, nobody seems to care about the hundreds of pillars that support this infrastructure. Due to this neglect, both these pillars and the space under these flyovers, have become a den of illegal activities from poster sticking to drug havens. Additionally, since many of these flyovers cut through different wards, the pillars are on a no man’s land, with nobody willing to take responsibility,” said a TUI volunteer.
The point of the exercise is not only to beautify the city, but also to prevent further abuse of the pillars and the space below them.
“We have adopted a neutral colour scheme and more or less uniform design, so that the paint job looks almost official and gives a ‘brand’ look for the city. The project has been quite successful as most people are unwilling to deface pretty pillars,” said the volunteer.
As per their estimates, close to 10,000 volunteers have been involved in this transformation as part of project
UFO (under the flyover). Many corporates have also come forward to volunteer for the cause. “Apart from the pillars, the space under the flyover is also being reclaimed, with the construction of gardens, sitting places and even a skating rink in Domlur. Over the next one year we hope to see that all of them are painted and the space below them clean,” he added.
