Coimbatore: Attracted by the colourful paintings that have replaced the fading walls of the government buildings in the heart of the city, authorities of the southern railway and the city airport have decided to seek the service of the painters.“We have received requests from the railway and airport authorities to paint their buildings. The work is expected to commence soon,” R Raveendran of the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC), who is privy to the project, said while speaking at a panel discussion about public art and smart cities organized by St+art Indian Foundation on Saturday.Signing a memorandum of understanding with the city corporation, artists from the foundation had painted the walls of five government buildings including the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital, office of the police commissioner and the public library. The local themes attracted the residents.An image of Mahatma Gandhi stepping out of a train will adorn the front wall of the railway station, local artist V Jeevananthan of Chitrakala Academy said. “Artists from the foundation will also paint the walls of arrival and departure rooms of the airport,” he said.Speaking on the occasion, corporation commissioner K Vijayakarthikeyan said that the civic body has been planning to organize a seminar for the local artists to encourage and inspire them to take up street art. “It is the responsibility of the local artists to maintain the paintings and to turn other buildings colourful.”It’s been a long time since local artists were engaged in painting, Jeevanatham said. “Most of them switched to digital painting after it became popular. The work done by the foundation has inspired the local artists and has given a new life to the dying street art,” he said.

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