City walls paint a sorry image

City walls paint a sorry image
Paintings on roadside walls, which were to last five years according to BBMP, peel off
Suchith.Kidiyoor @timesgroup.com


The paintings on the roadside walls in the city were expected to last for five years. But the fact is it’s not even a year since these walls were painted, but they are already peeling off.
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike spent a huge sum of Rs 73.55 lakh to paint the walls, whose work began in August last year.
The project was taken up in the name of beautification of roadside walls, which saw the state’s tourist spots, animals, and culture & tradition showcased through paintings across the city.
These paintings, however, have peeled off, revealing the stone walls behind them.
B T Ramesh, chief engineer (west zone), however, said most of the paintings on walls are in good condition. “There are only few cases of peeled-off paintings, like the ones on Vatal Nagaraj Road.”
According to him, the paint was peeling off because the “concrete plastering on old walls was not effective”. Wherever paintings have peeled off, the civic body plans to replaster the walls and go in for a fresh coat of paint.
FALSE CLAIM?
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had claimed on the floor of the state assembly that paintings on the city walls would survive for at least four to five years. But most paintings have gone dull and peeled off after being exposed to rains.
Meanwhile, the BBMP officials have asked artists to whitewash ‘uglylooking’ paintings and replace them with better quality paintings. Whitewashing is already being done on the Lalbagh compound walls.
Ramesh said, “Some paintings were bad, so they (artists) have been asked to whitewash them and paint new pictures. The BBMP has no plans to continue beautification of the walls.”