Wall paintings to give Lucknow a colourful makeover
LUCKNOW: The city is set to wear a colourful look, courtesy wall paintings that will adorn flyovers, underpasses, and boundary walls of government establishments on important roads, dividers and parks soon.
District magistrate (DM) Kaushal Raj Sharma on Monday said he had directed the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) and the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) to carry out such wall paintings across the city.
The DM also said the paintings will have different themes, a majority based on the city’s rich culture, some on the Swachh Bharat Mission and others comprising graffiti art.
The paintings here would be on similar lines as those seen in the ‘Pink City’ Jaipur, he said.
“We have asked the Nagar Nigam to prepare stencils of the paintings and designs to suit the city’s culture. Other than Lucknow, the city walls will also portray the culture of the NorthEast, Delhi and Rajasthan,” he added.
Nevertheless, it was yet to be finalised whether the wall paintings would have a uniform colour scheme or different hues, said municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi.
For his part, Sharma said, “At some points, the paintings are already in progress. It will take another month to complete the entire work. Indeed, it will give a complete makeover to the heritage city.”
The wall painting drive will not only give a colourful look to the entire city, but it will also help in checking the frequent spitting habit, he added.
Lucknow will be the state’s second city to witness such a drive after Prayagraj where an extensive wall painting campaign was carried out to prepare the Sangam city for the upcoming Kumbh Mela, starting on January 15. Under the ‘Paint My City’ campaign, Prayagraj walls were painted in the Kumbh Mela theme.
As for Lucknow, municipal corporation officials said they had hired a bunch of painters, from the state capital, Delhi, Rajasthan, the North-East and Jaipur.
“Most of these artists, who will be using the city walls as canvas, are students of art colleges. They will use special weatherproof paints to ensure that portraits and images last long,” said Tripathi.
He said the paintings will be done on all 22 flyovers of the city, underpasses, Shaheed Path, parks, dividers and walls of government establishments on all important roads.
City folks gave thumbs up to the move but some struck a note of caution too. “Indeed, it’s good attempt but it should be ensured that the move does not end up painting the city saffron,” said S Mohammed Haider, a heritage activist.
PAINTINGS WILL HAVE DIFFERENT THEMES, A MAJORITY BASED ON THE CITY’S RICH CULTURE