Defacement gives murals a shabby look in city
Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 17
Most of the murals painted on walls and pillars of bridges in the city have been defaced. The wall paintings can be dotted with posters and pamphlets of politicians, religious preachers and filmmakers.
The objective behind murals is not only beautification of walls, but also creating awareness on social issues. Almost half of the portion of two such paintings on the pillars of the elevated bridge at Tara Wala Pul has been covered with advertisement posters.
The posters belong to a local politician, a religious organisation and an upcoming Punjabi film. “No one should deface the art work. As film too is an art work, at least its promoters should have cared for the wall paintings,” said Ramneek Bhatia, postgraduate student.
The defacement of public properties is not a new thing in city. It has been going on for a long time. The insensitivity towards the art work, though not painted by a renowned artist, is objectionable.
Another resident, Harbhajan Singh, said, “Even if these posters are removed now, it will make the colours of murals peel off. There should be a mechanism that nobody dares to deface art works at least. The MC should take cognisance of the issue.”
When contacted, Sher Singh, Superintendent of Advertising Cell of the MC, said, “We have written to the police in the past to take action against defacers. The defacement of art works is a serious matter and definitely action will be taken.”
