Tobacco stains deface whitewashed flyovers

Masab Tank: Just a few days ago the paintings of Convention on Biological Diversity (cop 11) were scrubbed off with beige wash by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). However, it didn’t take the pan lovers of Hyderabadis to fill the beige painted walls with stains of pan, gutkha and tobacco.

It seems the walls have been repainted for spitting chewed pan and gutkha. At first the beautiful murals painted by the students of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU) were scrubbed off and a clear beige paint was colored on the flyover. Likewise, many flyovers at Punjagutta, Secretariat, Masab Tank and Langer Houz were painted with bright colours which were now marked with gutkha stains.

“Citizens only remember rights, they always forget responsibilities. And litter the city, tobacco stains look very ugly on the whitewashed wall, people who are doing this should have some shame,” said Vikas Raj, a commuter at Mehdipatnam. Another commuter, Rajesh said, “The flyovers look very unattractive and the tobacco stains are also unhygienic, government should impose fines on the persons indulging in such acts.” Several attempts were made to contact sanitation wing of GHMC, but all went in vain.