Bhubaneswar, May 11: Stone sculptures installed to beautify the city are lying shorn of their beauty with the municipal corporation showing little interest in their upkeep.

As part of its beautification drive, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had installed artworks across the city, including on the medians near Jayadev Vihar Square, AG Square, Acharya Vihar Square and Bidyut Marg. A few smaller sculptures still dot places such as Kalpana Square and Bomikhal Square.

The civic body had taken up the project in the public-private-partnership mode in 2012 and the first sculptures were installed near Kalinga Stadium at Jayadev Vihar. The installation now lies in a dilapidated condition because of lack of maintenance. What's worse, waste lies dumped near the artwork.

"It was such a wonderful initiative of the civic body to make the city beautiful by installing such sculptures. Some of the art forms did depict a lot about the life and culture in the state. It is sad to see this installation in ruins. The civic body is not at all bothered about it," said Nayapalli resident Jayanta Mahapatra, a schoolteacher.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena admitted that the installation was in a bad condition and promised to take measures to restore the statue as soon as possible.

"I have issued a direction to the environment officer to look into the matter and take immediate steps to restore the installation. He will also ensure that such a situation does not arise again," said Jena.

These sculptures were also used to depict natural elements such as the sun and trees, as well as religious motifs like swastika and Om. The artwork near Kalinga Stadium reflects the life and art of tribal people.

Sources said development projects also contributed to the sad state of the installations. Construction materials and demolition waste dumped near these installations have also added to their misery.

A senior municipal corporation official said they had issued direction to the agencies and individuals to stop dumping waste near the sculptures or face action.

"Many government agencies also dump waste materials near such structures. Our contractors, engaged in drain and road construction also dump waste near these artworks. We have already come up with a plan to impose fines on such violators. It will be implemented strictly in the interest of the beauty of the city," said the official.

Shastri Nagar resident Girish Mishra said it was highly irresponsible of the civic body to blame others for the plight of the beautiful artworks.

"It is the duty of the civic body to ensure maintenance of the installations," said Mishra.

"If someone is dumping waste materials and damaging the property, the civic body should take action. If the situation arises out of any natural calamity, the civic body should take responsibility and restore the artworks," he said.