NEW DELHI: Arms outstretched, a mace (gada) in one hand, the image of Sankat Mochan flying over the blue waters of the Indian Ocean greets you as you zip past the flyover across the Pracheen Hanuman Mandir at Yamuna Bazar near Kashmere Gate. On a wall of the newly-built Delhi-Meerut Expressway, you can see the landmarks of four prominent cities — Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore and Kolkata.
It’s no more paan stains, ugly posters and love messages or abuses scratched out on the walls of the flyovers in the national capital. The city’s flyovers are getting a ‘mural makeover’, courtesy the Delhi Street Art (DSA), a self-funded organisation that has been doing street art in Delhi since 2013.
The ‘beautified’ flyovers also include the Moolchand flyover and those across the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg and ITO.
Yogesh Saini, the founder of DSA, says the North MCD had approached them for painting the Kashmere Gate flyover while the rest were painted in conjunction with other government agencies such as the highway authorities.A North zone civic official said painting of the Hanuman Setu flyover was part of the initiative for the area’s beautification, which also includes removal of encroachments. A request has been sent to the PWD for repair of the flyover walls.
“If this one comes out well, the art work would also be taken to other areas that come under our range,” the official added.Although the mural of Hanuman has been completed, the painting of the flyover pillars is still underway. It is expected to be completed in the next 10 days.Saini said the main motive behind such projects is to make our public spaces cleaner and aesthetically appealing.