Chennai: From pictures of Indian blackbucks to herons, moorhens and coastal life, the city’s walls are getting a colourful makeover. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has partnered with the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) to beautify dull walls into vibrant public spaces.Called the ‘Wall.E – BlueGreen Chennai’ initiative, local residents, youth, and street artists are roped in to paint the walls depicting flourishing wildlife, wetlands and urban nature.“The project serves a dual purpose — beautification of neighborhoods as well as educating citizens on the urgent need to protect the city’s natural heritage. It also prevents defacement of public spaces caused by illegal postering, graffiti and littering,” said Arun Krishnamoorthy, EFI.At present, the work has commenced in southern areas of the city, including Greenways Road, Adyar and RA Puram. Paintings of Coppersmith Barbet, ducks and goose decked up the wall up to 500 metres along the Thiru Vi Ka bridge. Sholinganallur, Tambaram, Keezhkattalai, Chetpet and Kovalam are among the areas that will be covered subsequently, and completed in the next one month.“The corporation will also expand the initiative to other zones of the city soon after completing the first set of areas,” GCC Commissioner G S Sameeran said.Officials involved in the project said that the initiative was also a way of reclaiming public spaces through community art. “Already, the corporation has taken efforts to paint school walls in several zones of the city. When people or students see local bird species, marine life, and green landscapes painted in their daily spaces, it creates a sense of pride and ownership in them to keep the city clean and green,” an official from GCC south zone said.
