The Hindu 18.05.2010
BMC takes up beautification of city
Staff Reporter
| Paintings on tribal life depicted on city walls |
BERHAMPUR: The city walls have started to come alive with paintings depicting tribal life of undivided Koraput district.
It is part of the effort of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation to beautify the city. Most of the walls of public buildings by the side of major roads in the city have got decorated by paintings. These walls earlier bore mutilated look due to posters and graffiti.
But the city dwellers are wondering how come tribal paintings and pictures depicting tribal life got predominance in these paintings. It may be noted that Berhampur, the largest trading centre of south Orissa is also known as the gateway to undivided Koraput district. So, no one has complained about it.
But the reason behind this predominant depiction of tribal life on city walls is that the painters who are painting these pictures are from Koraput. Five painters from Koraput have been utilised by the local municipal corporation are involved in this painting work. These painters are also quite happy as it has provided them necessary income source. Senior painter in the team, Manoj Kumar Patnaik said such beautification efforts by urban bodies can provide income source to painters. He added that in recent years, advent of modern printing and large printed flex boards had snatched away earnings of painters. He said they are being paid Rs. 22 per square feet of painting. Till now they have painted 22,000 square feet of wall around the city.
Apart from tribal life and traditional tribal paintings, these young painters have also depicted issues related to common man like global warming, depletion of forest cover, wastage of water resources etc. But most of the time the characters depicted in these paintings tend to be tribals.
These painters have also drawn up some paintings related to problems of the city like drinking water crisis and rise in fire accidents during summer months.
