Authorities not in mood to paint city clean

Hyderabad:  With cities aspiring not just to be world-class but also truly inclusive and liveable, there is a greater emphasis on presentability and upkeep. However, a meeting between city departments and urban designers — instructed by MA&UD minister K.T. Rama Rao years ago — is yet to take place.

The meeting was to decide on themes to promote the aesthetic outlook of public spaces, especially for painting metro pillars, compound walls and flyovers.

Another facet of ensuring the upkeep of public spaces is the enforcement of the Defacement of Public Properties Act in January 2017. Even GHMC officials say they have initiated criminal action against offenders and that the law had resulted in a perceptible improvement in the city’s outlook, many public spaces continue to wear an ugly look, with posters, banners and flexis encroaching public spaces.

While the citizens blamed authorities for the lack of action, officials blamed the citizens for failing to do their part.

GHMC authorities said they got several stretches painted since 2018, which not only wear a pleasant look, but have also become prominent platforms to disseminate public information. While they admit that many public places, especially long stretches of walls of public and private establishments, need to be painted with works depicting the city’s culture and traditions.

For this, the corporation has tied up with the JNTU Fine Arts University to beautify city walls, corridors and bridges. The walls along the Somajiguda main road (opposite Raj Bhavan) M.S. Makta, Somajiguda flyover were given a facelift by the students of the JNTU. This was done after the success of the International Street Art festival held recently on Necklace Road.

However, after the event, none of the city departments managed to ensure the upkeep of the paintings.

Urban design experts said that such works, to build the character of the city, must be done in tandem with a dedicated design wing, with appropriate budget allotments.

Subba Rao, an urban designer who has worked with the Telangana and AP governments, said: “Entire team of engineers, architects, and city planners should work in tandem to build character and reflect the culture of the specific area in the city. Without which, face-lifting of urban design cannot happen.”

He called for a clear vision on the part of the government and the teams.

A senior GHMC official admitted that the MA&UD minister asked the corporation to hold a meeting with urban designers, which never happened. He said that the city would certainly get a facelift, one step at a time.

When asked about the painting of the Metro Rail corridors, HMRL authorities said that in India the pillars are not painted and as of now, the nodal agency refused to commit to painting them.