Tag Archives: garbage

What exactly does ChangeBhai do?

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Hi Changemakers!

It gives us super duper immense pleasure to say that a lot of active citizens are using ChangeBhai to upload issues of their neighborhood. A lot of these users are from Mumbai (though we handle issues from all over India : metros, tier-1 & tier-2 cities. Buck up rest of India. Get your issues resolved. Give it a shot at least, we say :)).

PicMonkey Collage

Just wanted to share a few things about how we do what we do.

Firstly, a short note about us. We are a young team of active citizens who have launched this initiative to ‘assist’ the citizens in getting their issues resolved & are not liable to resolve any issues.

Unlike a lot of portals which tell the user to sign petitions or just upload an issue and spread the word around amongst their social media friends to create a buzz around it, we just do this one thing.

GET YOUR ISSUE FIXED. Period.

Ok, now…

Who should not upload issues on ChangeBhai?:

  1. If you have that keeda inside you to prove that ‘everyone and everything else around you wrong’
  2. If you have always nurtured an ambition to migrate to a phoren land just because you think ‘things can never change in India’
  3. If a careful and deep analysis of your social media posts shows that more than 70% of your posts fall under the category of ‘cribby’ or ‘deprecatory’
  4. If the first instinct you have when you come across somebody trying to change things around them is something like this, instead of trying it at least once.

                        Kya faltu velle hai ye.

                        Kuch nahi hoga inse

                       Main isse acchi website bana sakta(i) hoon*

What all to expect when you upload issues on ChangeBhai

    a. Each and every issue uploaded correctly will be put into process and forwarded to the authority no matter how important or minor it is.
    b. We always share the name and the number (mostly mobile) of the staff member with whom we are coordinating to get the issue resolved. In many cases, even the ward office address where he/she sits. You are free to call them too, if you want.
    c. No matter what, you will always get regular updates from us. You will always know at whose end (authority and employee name) the issue is stuck.
    d. First non-automatic email that goes to you will ask you to confirm the location and ask for landmarks. Do respond to that. This is being done because many a times we and the authorities have gone round and round because the map tagging was done inaccurately by the user. This affects our credibility in front of the authorities, so we are just being sure.
    e. In cases where there is a location confusion or the issue is of recurring nature, we give the ground staff’s contact to the user as that works better than going ‘to-and-fro’ between the user and the authority. You will agree that our collective aim should be to get the issue resolved and not get stuck in process formalities.
    f. You will be given a ‘Resolution Tip’ in rare cases where the issue is recurring in nature on what exactly to do and whom to contact to report the issue in the future.

The whole concept is to ‘work together’ and get these issues resolved. We get you the right contacts, we escalate wherever the issue gets stuck etc. Of course, we cannot get all the issues resolved, but we put each and every issue into process and make repeated contact for follow up. To give you a figure, roughly around 20% of the issues get stuck for more than a month.

IMP Note for the Procrastinators : In cases where our operation team has already sent 2 follow up emails for pending information or issue closure confirmation, the issue will be tagged as Fixed/Closed on the 7th day of receiving no information from your side. You may however choose to reopen the issue by sending us an email on now_or_abhi@changebhai.in.

Our process might not be perfect but we are improving with each passing day based on citizens’ feedback and our experiences with the authorities. Knowing how we work and the limitations of working with authorities, do give us constructive inputs. We would love to incorporate them wherever possible. But first: Upload 1 issue on www.ChangeBhai.in at least.

And do pass the word around to encourage others to upload issues if you agree that ‘getting ChangeBhai to bug the authorities with repeated follow ups‘ is better than doing ‘nothing at all’.

Happy change making!

* If you think so, email your web development portfolio to now_or_abhi@changebhai.in. We are looking for php & app developers.

 

Garbage, Crows, Murder and Mumbai.

Civic gyaan, , , , , ,

Do you know what a ‘Group Of Crows’ is called?

A MURDER.

😐 No joke this, Boss. Google Kar lo. “English is a very phunny language”, as Amitabh Bachchan said in some movie. Namak Halal, me thinks.

Do you know where you can see maximum ‘Murders in Daylight’?

MUMBAI.

No. Am not referring to the underworld problems that this city faced in the not-so-distant past. Am referring to the ‘Crows partying on messy garbage bins’ issue which all Mumbaikars are so incredibly exposed to, that they have absolutely no problem ‘Living With It’.

But, not this user. Check  issue# A0450, Garbage with crows feeding. Do check the comment section to know the entire story. For those, who are in a hurry, here is the picture of the issue.

ChangeBhai Issue# A0450, Garbage with crows feeding

ChangeBhai Issue# A0450, Garbage with crows feeding

The user would witness this gross scene everyday on his way to work. After he reported it to ChangeBhai, we immediately flung into action. MCGM shared their side of the story, which was (yawn if you want):

‘We pick up garbage between 9 am-10 am but the nearby slum dwellers and restaurants throw garbage late in the night, which can be seen by office goers (including the user) before 9 am. Hum kya karein, aap batao??’

This issue# A0450 was strikingly similar to a lot of other garbage issues that we receive on a day to day basis. Check this one for example, issue#A0412, Garbage strews outside bins.

In all these cases, MCGM authority after expressing their helplessness asked us for suggestion on what to do about it. They also add that enforcing a fine does not work with the slum dwellers for obvious reasons.

After long discussions, here is what we suggested and got implemented:

Issue#A0412: MCGM placed a guard on their payroll near the bin to warn the slum people and ask them to throw the garbage in the bin and not outside it.

Issue#A0450: MCGM is placing 3 additional bins of 0.5 tonne capacity each in this densely populated area as it required minimum 2 tonne capacity bins to accommodate the garbage here.

What would you suggest we should have done in such cases?

A. Let the crows party #4BajGayeLekinPartyAbhiBaakiHai

B. Enforce penalties #JebDheeli

C. Do what we did #LageRaho

Do upload issues of your aas-padoss on www.ChangeBhai.in if you want to ‘pull the plug’ on such murders.

Note: As we always say,  most civic authorities including MCGM are willing to resolve our issues if we work ‘with them’ instead of ‘against them’.  Try it, we say, if you disagree.

LEAKED!: How Will GERMANY Stop MESSI.

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messi changebhai

Weather forecast* says it is going to rain heavily this coming Sunday post midnight (chalo Monday le lo), which is when the much anticipated FIFA World Cup 2014 Final is going to be played between the much deserving Germany and every (chalo most le lo) Indian’s favourite Argentina.

Which means it’s going to rain ‘potholes’ whole night on Indian roads when it will be raining ‘goals’ back in Brazil . Arrgggghhhh. It is going to be very MESSI on Monday morning when all of us are supposed to go to work. Darn!

This is how Germany plans to stop Messi apparently.
This is how Germany plans to stop Messi apparently.

Taking a cue from The Guardian and ESPN’s football journalist Michael Cox’s top secret hush hush strategy (picture above) of ‘How Will Germany Stop Messi?’, I make my strategy on how will I reach my office on Monday morning. Apni apni strategy bana lo doston. Kaam aayegi.

Using historical data of the last 10 years to mark the spots where the possibility of ‘pothole formation’ and ‘garbage collection’ will be maximum post the showers, I am ready with my PLAN to reach office. Here it is:

This is how I plan to reach my office after the match.
This is how I plan to reach my office after the match.

Any guesses who is going to lose ‘IN’ the Germany vs. Argentina FIFA world cup 2014 final. Ahem..if i may say..Ger..mm..mannyyy?

Am not guessing…rehne do…Baad mein joote padenge! @Blog Admin: Am I allowed to edit this blog after the match 😉

Any guesses who is going to lose ‘DURING’ the Germany vs. Argentina FIFA world cup 2014 final. Ju and Mi, eh?

 * This article assumes the weather forecast to hold true. *snigger*  :-) ROFL-LOL-LMFAO-all-in-one #ThisIsIndia

Moral of the ‘article’: Report Potholes & Garbage issues on www.ChangeBhai.in and avoid making the plan mentioned above for the rest of your life. Enjoy the match! :-)

Why Indians Will Not Forgive Maria Sharapova.

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Maria Sharapova, the poor Russian tennis babe was whipped left, right and centre  last week by the netizens of India because bechaari revealed in a recent media interview that she did not know who Sachin Tendulkar is.

My own thoughts when the news came out:

Haye haye. Satyanaash. Kalyug aa gaya bhaiya. Ye kya bol diya isne. :-O

And of course, all hell broke loose in the Indian online space. Like they say, in these popular mythological serials “Charon taraf hahakar mach gaya”.

#WhoIsMariaSharapova was trending worldwide. Indians were trying to shame the Russian by treating her like she was a ‘Nobody’.

Kaun Maria Sharapova? Humein nahi pata. Na ji. Naam hi nahi suna. By God ki kasam.

Courtesy: Getty Images, Cricket Country
Courtesy: Getty Images, Cricket Country

Now we, at ChangeBhai, keep trying different tactics to ensure more and more Indian netizens log on to ChangeBhai and report their neighbourhood issues, toh ek aur chaal sahi because dude, this definitely seems to be working.

So, here we go – Trying to be totally ignorant about issues that are all over the place and are known to everybody.

Which traffic problem? #KaunSiTraffic

Where are the potholes? #KahanHaiPotholes

What is garbage? #YeGarbageKyaHotaHai

Child Labour in India? Naa ji naa. Ho hi nahi sakta.

DENIAL MODE ACTIVATED

Let’s see if it works. Don’t tell anyone. Ssssshhhhhhh….

Do you think this will work? If not, then  let’s ‘Deactivate the Denial Mode’ that all of us are in and upload issues on www.ChangeBhai.in. At least 1 issue each.

Disclaimer: We love Sachin Tendulkar aka apna Sachya to death.

 

They are doing their ‘Bin’ …Are you doing yours!

Civic gyaan, , , ,

We have mentioned in our earlier posts how our entire team takes out a couple of days in a month and moves around their city speaking to people on the roads. Psst…The footage will make for some ‘enlightening’ YouTube videos (which we are in the process of making, by the way. Watch this space for that.)

The theme of this piece is inspired from the conversations we have had with people about the issue of ‘Garbage Bins’ in Mumbai; South Mumbai to be precise.

While most of the people said that there are no garbage bins in their city at all, some said they are not enough while a few said there are a lot of bins, newly installed albeit.

After getting varying response from the people of the same city, we decided to chuck everything else and check it ourselves. So, we went about town doing guess what… ‘BIN SPOTTING’ (Besides the point, but when my mother called me to ask where I was and I told her what exactly we were doing, I could hear a disappointing sigh from the other end with a faint ‘Is this why you did Engineering and an MBA’ followed by a click..Hota hai!)

We could see a lot of freshly installed bins which were nowhere close to the tattered bins we are used to seeing.

Cool stuff, municipal people! You did surprise us with these fancy, separate Dry and Wet bins (btw, our counterparts in other smaller cities could spot them as well…they are all over the place…like Hollywood would say… “Run..the bins are taking over” #BadJoke) Would be great if the authorities can run recurring campaigns to raise awareness on what type of kachra to throw in which coloured bin. And the colour coding, we suggest, should be universal across the country.

Trash bins in Mumbai
Newly installed trash bins in South Mumbai.

 So we come to today’s question:

They are doing their ‘Bin’ ..oops bit … but, are you doing yours!

Some key points to remember when you want to throw garbage :

1. Bins are not capable of walking up to you
(we are hopeful that with growing technological advancements such a day would come as well :) #IndiansNeedWalkingBins)

 2. Just like we hunt for the nearest ATMs, STD-PCOs whenever we need one, we can do the same for bins as well. Always, always remember:

The next bin is not too far away

3. And if you think there are not enough bins –

Why not report it at www.ChangeBhai.in!

We will get them installed for you, if there are none close by. What say you? Yes, no, maybe?

Things That Piss Us Off.

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changebhai-blog

#Potholes #ChildLabour #Garbage

True That. Period.

Note: Even I am guilty of that and so, ‘No Comments’ at all this time. Just a moment of silence for all my fellow hypocrites and a high-five…

….In the face…

……with a chair.

😐

ChangeBhai | SPOT-REPORT-CHANGE
www.ChangeBhai.in  | CB on FaceBook   |   CB on Twitter

 

Baccha Party Zindabad!

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Team ChangeBhai embarked on a nation wide  ‘Ground Engagement Campaign’ for schools and colleges last month.  We are covering hundreds of such institutions, small, big, government, private and so on. Have a look at the pictures below from one such campaign.

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These are students of Laxmibai Nandgude International School, Pimpri Chinchwad.

We were to take a session on ‘How to use ChangeBhai to report issues” in this school. A peep into the window of the makeshift tin room where the students were seated and my colleague whispered to me “Dude, I bet none of these kids would have access to internet. We need to drop the original plan of educating the kids about ChangeBhai..let’s not throw that whole ‘tagging the issue on a map’ gyan here..no point..why to bug the poor kids…nahi samjhega inko”

I agreed. “Ya..ya..of course..lets chuck it..Plan B is cool here..let’s just speak about some popular social issues…garbage..potholes..and leave”

There were around 60-70 kids from 8th, 9th & 10th standards, girls seated on one side and boys on the other. Around 10-15 teachers were sitting on either side of the small jam-packed room.

I began the session with the general gyan on social issues that we face on day to day basis. As I was about to introduce the portal to the students, I thought of asking the students some questions to gauge their ‘internet awareness level’ so that I can tweak my pitch accordingly.

“So, how many of you use internet regularly?” , I ask, expecting 4-5 kids to raise their hands.

Barring 2-3 girls, all of them raise their hands. Yes. All!

“Ahem..mmm..ok. ..g..gr..great..Ok..so how many of you are on facebook?”

70% hands went up again.

“What about mobile?..How many of you have it?”

50% hands up again.

“Do you use any apps on your phone?”

“Whatsapp”

“Angry Birds”

My colleague looks at me.  We know what to do next. We go back to Plan A which was a ‘Spot The Issue’ activity.  The activity was super successful. 11 students tied up for the 1st place!! A 1 min on-the-spot extempore competition was conducted to pick two winners.

The students were to speak about the issues featured on ChangeBhai which were close to their hearts.

Reik Khan, 14 said “I want to do something about Child Labour in India. No parent should send their kids to work when it is time for them to study..So, Yes.. I want to use Changebhai to report all such child labour issues that I see on a daily basis in my city”

Pratik Sonawane, 15, Reik’s senior in school, said “We, the citizens are as much to blame for bad civic situation in our country as are the authorities. Educating the citizens to report the issues around them is the need of the hour”

Winner!
Winner!
Our Spot-Report-Change Message
Our Spot-Report-Change Message

The more we interact with young guns like you, the more we feel confident about the success that awaits ChangeBhai!

An Ideal Garbage Bin!

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At Changebhai, one of the most common targets of the citizens filing issues under the ‘Civic’ category is the ‘Garbage Bin’. Overflowing garbage bins. Dirty area around the garbage bin. Garbage not picked up for days at a stretch. And so on..
I, for example never took this issue seriously ever. I once remember passing by an overflowing and stinking garbage bin and telling my mother in my usual what’s-the-big-deal tone ‘It is impossible to keep these bins clean in India. Have you see the variety of garbage thrown here? And the number of people who stay in this locality. Don’t think that can ever happen.’

Never say never, folks. I was passing by an army area in Pune yesterday and look what I saw.

army-garbage-bin

It is Ganpati time in Maharashtra and this bin was kept in a fairly crowded area open to civilians and right next to a water body where the idol immersions were happening. And boy, look at it. Neat. Painted. Organized. A good example for our municipal corporations to follow. What say?