City set to get window dressing

The Palike too kept a brief promise of turning all walls of public buildings lining the City roads into arty windows to Karnataka’s glorious natural and historical heritage. The wall paintings by artists under the direct supervision of BBMP’s former commissioner Bharatlal Meena, cost an estimated Rs four crore.

The Palike plastered many stone walls before the painting, driving up the costs by at least three times. The project has long been shelved and forgotten after Meena’s exit. And the worn out walls are back to their ugly past.

The BDA’s latest beautification plan is based on revisiting the glorious era of the 14th century founder ruler of Bangalore, Kempegowda.

The project seeks to replicate the Kempegowda towers along the highway entry points and beautify them with landscaping and paintings up to 20 km from the City centre. In the first phase, the BDA has drawn a plan to erect the towers along the centre medians and do landscaping along five roads, including Tumkur Road (NH 4), Bellary (Airport) Road (NH 7), Old Madras Road (NH 4), Hosur Road (NH 7) and Mysore Road (SH 17). The Kempe Gowda towers were meant demarcate then boundaries of the City.

Tumkur road will sport paintings and sculptures that depict the history of the City, catering to those heading to the City from Mumbai, Pune and Mangalore, while Bellary (Airport) road will showcase the progress of the City in the field of aviation, science and technology.

Meena, now BDA Commissioner, is again the man behind the beautification drive. “The plan is yet to be ratified by the BDA board. Once done, it will be sent to the Government for approval,” said a BDA official.

“The project estimates are still to be prepared. The towers are proposed to be built with metal components as in many Western countries,” the official said.

A public notification was issued in September without much ado. Naturally, the response was luke warm, according to officials. “We have received very few suggestions in the 15 days time given after the notification,” an official said.