CHENNAI: Until a few days back, the outer premises of Prime Terrace Apartment on LB Road in Adyar was filled with hoardings, waste materials and garbage spillage. Traffic congestion and pollution added to the accumulation of dust. But some determination, paint and art is all it took to revamp this neighbourhood. The residents who are part of Owners of Prime Terrace Residents Association (OPTRA) joined hands with Corporation officials and Karam Korpom Foundation, and infused life into it with wall art.
“Corporation officials helped us clean the place. It took around five rounds. After collecting garbage, volunteers from Karam Korpom guided us with painting. Around 35 kids from our community along with the artists painted the walls in parts in two days. We have also implemented other projects like rainwater harvesting and waste segregation. We will begin our composting work in another 10 days,” said R Kumar, committee member, OPTRA.
Karam Korpom Foundation was started by husband-wife duo Umamaheswari and Shivkumar, a year back. They have been involved with wall art activities since June 2016. Their main objective is to work towards environment protection through awareness programmes and knowledge-sharing sessions. They work with a team of volunteers comprising social activists, working professionals, artists and students.
“We’ve done 33 projects in and around Mylapore. Our flagship activity is ‘Stop Abusing Public Spaces’. My husband takes care of the creative side. Depending on the location of the project we choose a social message. First, the abused spaces are identified, cleaned up with the help of conservancy workers and then wall art is carried out with local community participation, in addition to our volunteers. If residents of an area that is far off want our assistance, we can guide them over the phone. We aim to make the city clean,” said Uma.
For details, visit:karamkorpom.org