All eyes were on the nearly 500-metre wall stretch near Madurai Railway Junction on Sunday morning as it began transforming into a riot of colours with a number of schoolchildren and painters displaying their talent as part of Madurai Corporation’s ongoing drive to reclaim and beautify public walls.
The people passing by the busy West Veli Street in buses, cars and two-wheelers looked with amazement the transformation of the wall, which they were until now used to seeing as an urinating spot and a place filled with posters and paintings of political parties.
“A few years back, the wall was identified with the name of an influential politician in Madurai, as only his posters ‘adorned’ the wall. Later, it sort of became a battleground with posters from rival political parties,” said R. Balu, an elderly man from Ellis Nagar, who stopped the auto rickshaw in which he was travelling to see the painting work in progress.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I travel through this stretch daily. It is heartening to see such a beautiful thing happening to the wall, particularly in the hands of children,” he added.
Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri said that though the initiative had already been done in few other places in the city, providing a facelift to this particular wall was significant in terms of its location.
“This is located at the heart of the city, in close proximity to Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai Junction and Periyar bus stand. Not only a large number of local people, but majority of the tourists visiting Madurai also cross this stretch every day. Beautifying this wall can therefore considerably impact the image visitors will have about the city,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
He highlighted that the area also came under the area-based development (ADB) plan under the Smart Cities Mission, under which Madurai city has been short-listed.
Mr. Nanduri said that the announcement by Madurai Corporation received an overwhelming response with 42 groups registering till Sunday morning to paint the wall. Each group were allocated a 15-feet stretch to draw a painting under various themes like environment protection, women empowerment and cleanliness.
A number of teachers and parents were seen accompanying their children, who had come to paint the wall. J.B. Bhavani, a home-maker from Munichalai, said that she brought her son J. Sriram Prabhu, studying Class 10, after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper.
“Though prize money has been announced for three best paintings, we are not bothered about that. I want my son to have a connect with his city and realize that everyone has a responsibility in keeping the city clean,” she said. “Whenever, he crosses this stretch, he can say with pride that his painting is on the wall,” she added.
G. Madhumitha, a Class 8 student from Velliveedhiyar Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School, who was drawing a painting condemning the evil of child marriage, said that participating in this initiative gave her more happiness than usual competitions. “Here, I can showcase my painting to everyone and it will remain here for a long time,” she said.
M. Sundar, an artist from Ellis Nagar, said that ever since flex banners came into picture, their opportunities witnessed a sharp decline. “When I heard about this initiative, I certainly did not want to miss out. Every city should do this,” he said.
S.V. Paneerselvam, another artist, who had earlier done paintings in Rajaji Park and the walls in Race Course Road, said that the initiative gave a greater sense of satisfaction to artists like him.
Mr. Nanduri said that the Corporation was planning to ramp up the initiative to maximum number of public walls in the city.
“Simultaneously, we are also taking steps like setting up toilets near the walls to ensure that they do not become urinating spots again,” he said.