Rajkot slums to get eye-pleasing look

Rajkot: The sight of slums is not a pleasant one. But, in Rajkot, the closely packed dwellings of the poor, won't be a put-off, at least from their looks.
In a unique project, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation ( RMC) has decided to colour all the huts in slum areas to give them a pleasing look. RMC has also roped in artists from a non-governmental organization (NGO) to start painting 200 slum houses in the first phase. And, they won't be just painted with exterior colour, artists will also make pictures on different themes on the walls.

Around 150 artists of Mission Smart city Trust popular as ‘Chitranagari’ will paint nearly 400 slum houses in Laldu Vokdi area and near Jilla Garden area to give them refreshing look. The colors will be provided by RMC while artists will work voluntarily on every Sunday.

Jitendra Gotecha, managing trustee of the NGO, said, “Besides giving a pleasing look, the idea behind painting slum houses is to bring awareness about cleanliness among the residents.”

Some of the themes under consideration for painting are ‘clean Rajkot’ and pictures of animals and birds, tradition and others.

RMC and Chitranagari are also planning a documentary film on the paintings of slums.

A 10-minute film will show the slum before and after painting and the happiness of the dwellers along with the experience of artists.

The documentary will be sent to various festivals later.

Earlier, Chitranagari has also painted Rajkot’s railway station, airport and various roads like Greenland Chowkdi, Kalavad Road and 150 feet Ring Road. The artists associated with this organization are voluntarily beautifying the city.

Municipal commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani said, “Once their houses get an eye-pleasing look, the dwellers won’t litter the area. They will give the garbage to tipper van and keep the place clean.