Berhampur: Gopalpur Notified Area Council (NAC) has taken up the task of beautification of the town. The walls starting from the entrance to the town to the sea beach are getting colourful paintings.
The walls that used to present an ugly picture of half-torn posters, obscene graffiti, foul languages and flakings now have the paintings depicting state monuments and local lifestyle to a length of about 3 km by the side of main roads.
Ten artists from various parts of Ganjam. who are engaged in the beautification drive, said it will provide the much-needed income source to them. The advent of modern printing, large printed flex boards and the recent restrictions of COVID-19 had snatched away their earnings. They are paid Rs 45 per square feet of painting.
Stating that costly HD colour was applied to the paintings, they claimed that their glow will last at least three years,
“We have undertaken this project under the Urban Wage Employment Initiative (UWEI) scheme of the Urban Development Department and spent Rs 1.50 lakh for the wall paintings,” said Uma Shankar Sethi, Executive Officer of Gopalpur NAC.
Subsequently, more areas in the port town would be covered with an expenditure of another Rs five lakh, he added.
