It's not picture perfect anymore

Street art has become an integral part of Bangalore as various paintings, depicting the tradition and heritage of Karnataka, are etched on most walls of the City. But these colourful walls have been losing their charm of late as most of the paintings are peeling off.

Metrolife finds out what the  BBMP is doing to rectify the state of these once beautiful paintings and whether its planning to paint more walls in the City.

Says B T Ramesh, the engineer-in-chief of this project, which was started in
August 2009, “We do undertake annual maintenance work in these places and we will be getting these walls repainted in two or three months as the work involves huge cost.”

He adds, “It is relatively difficult as these paintings are spread all across the City and if a new paint job needs to be done, new artists need to be employed and for this, new tenders have to be floated.”

This is a matter of policy decision which will be taken by the Commissioner and nobody is certain as to when this will come through.

One can see a number of these painted walls in places like Jayanagar, Lalbagh, Malleswaram and Airport Road.

Says Reynah, an advertising professional, “The City is the first in the entire country to have such paintings which is a matter of pride for all of us. But it’s a pity that the paint on many of these walls is chipping away. While it is the responsibility of the BBMP to ensure that something is done regarding this, even the government and corporates should come forward and help.” Though the paintings are meant to prevent people from sticking posters and spitting on the walls, they have not deterred a few people from going ahead and ruining it with drawings and posters.

Says B T Ramesh, “In such instances, a police complaint will have to be given. Usually, the Area Assistant Engineer and a health inspector conduct inspection in these areas on a regular basis and in case they find something of this sort, they will take action.” Apart from this, BBMP is also planning to paint more walls in the City. Ramesh adds, “We are still in the process of deciding whether we should paint the walls that have not yet been covered. Once the decision is taken, a tender will be floated and then work will be entrusted to the Zonal Chief Engineer.”

The City is divided into eight zones and each zone is headed by a Zonal Joint
Commissioner who will identify the roads and compound walls where this work can be carried on. But this is a huge project and proper planning needs to be done before the
authorities undertake further paintings.

Kiran, a student agrees, “Before making any move, the BBMP should plan
properly. With the Metro coming up and other road widening projects undertaken, most of the walls might get damaged.” Even Suraj, a marketing executive adds, “It is a requirement as it adds to the beauty of this City. But if the BBMP starts this project,
it should ensure that the work is done in the right manner and at the right places. And before new paint work is carried on, it should repaint the existing ones.”