Paintings to fade into just memories?

BANGALORE: They will soon be a memory if they don’t see a fresh coat of paint. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) project of painting the city walls was a good one. But now, while some of those paintings have faded, some have peeled off.Painting the walls of the city was one of the ‘dream’ projects of former commissioner Bharat Lal Meena who initiated it to beautify roadside walls. These murals depict the tourist spots of the state, the folk and art culture of Karnataka and the likes. With 32 artists painting on the major roads, the Palike had spent more than Rs 75 lakh on the project.After two years, these paintings have started peeled off. Official sources from the BBMP said that when they called for tenders for the first time to paint the walls, the Palike had put a condition to the agency to maintain these paintings for one year. But the maintenance contract lapsed in 2010. It’s been one year with no maintenance, and the paintings have begun to reveal the stone walls behind them.Official further blamed the condition of the walls. According to them, the concrete plastering on the old walls was not effective. “Though we used good quality paints, due to the condition of the walls, the plaster started peeling off during monsoon,” an  official added.  Now, when the Palike is planning to paint other roadside walls, they are not showing an interest to re-paint the walls. “There is a need for re-plastering those walls before painting. Painting without re-plastering will not do any justice. But the new tender which we called for is not for those old walls,” the official clarified.It can be recalled that former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had claimed on the floor of the state assembly that these paintings on the city walls would survive for at least five years.