Mural paintings in Kottayam lose their radiance

KOTTAYAM: The ‘mural city’ project launched in the town under the aegis of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi in 2013  is in a shambles due to lack of maintenance. The mural pictures drawn at different places in the town by at least 115 artists from Kerala, other states and outside the country to promote tourism have began fading and losing their lustre. The project was launched with much fanfare on May 12, 2013 and completed in June that year. 

The mural pictures were drawn at landmark sites, including the municipal building, collectorate, district hospital, Pushpagiri church, Thellakom,  east police station, Thirunakkara maidan, Mahadevar temple and a few other places.   The Lalithakala Akademi implemented it with a fund of '72 lakh. However, the sun and rain have destroyed the paintings in most places, including the Thirunakkara maidan, entrance of Kottayam municipality, railway station and east police station.

The paintings include those of the god and goddess at the Thirunakkara temple and  the Ark of Noah at the Pushpagiri church. When the project was launched, the authorities had promised  periodic preservation of the  paintings.   However, no renovation or preservation works have been done so far due to lack of funds from the government. “Though we sought Rs 25 lakh, the government didn’t grant it. This impeded the preservation of the paintings,”  said akademi sources. Akademi secretary Ponnyam Chandran told DC that they had allocated funds in the 2016-17 budgets for the renovation of the paintings.