Workers during a clean-up exercise under the Jayadev Vihar flyover on Thursday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 30: The National Highways Authority of India has engaged an agency to clean graffiti and posters that have defaced the city walls that had once been beautified with colourful paintings.

The agency has started the clean-up drive, beginning with the walls under flyovers.

The Telegraph, which had carried a report on walls being defaced — “Beauty under sea of graffiti” — in the November 5, 2012, edition takes a look at the ongoing cleaning exercise.

Jayadev Vihar

Sri Jagannath Expressway Private Limited (SJEPL), the agency hired by the highways authority, began removing posters and graffiti from the defaced walls of the Jayadev Vihar flyover yesterday. This afternoon, four labourers were found vigorously brushing the walls.

Deputy general manager of the agency Sriprakash Patnaik said: “We have made phone calls to the advertisers who plastered the walls with posters. We have also written letters to six such agencies asking them to stop the practice. But this goes on.”

The paintings, depicting tourist spots of the state, were commissioned by the Bhuabneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). But these have been disfigured. Graffiti is also seen on flyovers that are under construction in the city.

The highways authority is constructing flyovers at five places along the NH-5. “We will remove all graffiti and posters defacing the structures between Chandikhol and Baramunda.

Once the graffiti are removed, the BMC can paint them again with traditional paintings or art forms,” said Patnaik.

Rajmahal Square

The flyover in the heart of the city has been defaced a lot with political parties and organisations sticking their posters announcing rallies and programmes. Its walls have been covered with slogans.

BMC commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra said: “This shows the lack of civic sense in people. We will identify the advertisers and issue notices to them so that they do not repeat it again.”

Deepak Panda, an artist, said: “Whether it is a political party or other organisation, the civic authorities should issue a warning and, if needed, slap fines on violators.”

Subhakanta Swain, a teacher at an engineering college, said: “Civic sense will only develop in people if we act strictly and punish the violators. The BMC enforcement officials should act fast and try to identify the violators.”