It’s been almost nine years since they were drawn on various locations – under bridges, flyovers, city centers, buildings, etc. The pictures mostly of Telangana-centric luminaries or of birds and animals are now barely seen due to heavy pollution. In fact, the citizens are now left wondering if the city was ever readied for the biodiversity meeting known as the Conference of the Parties (CoP11).

The sad part is that the murals under the Punjagutta flyover have lost their original colors, and some have been torn off. So is the case with artworks near Patny Circle as they are lost under layers of grime and dust due to heavy traffic. Another sore reminder of the state of affairs is that The Thinking Money sculpture by CV Ambaji has been torn out of its location near Biodiversity Park and is now located yards away near Mindspace Junction. However, it is barely visible.

Ramana Reddy was a part of the art project from 2012. He shares that there has been no maintenance and no care taken of the artworks so far. He rues that there has been no encouragement for art and adds that many artists got attracted to animal motifs during the biodiversity conference. Incidentally, Reddy happens to be the creator of Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial at the end of Tank Bund road.

For the unversed, much of the artwork was done by students of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University. However, today, no one seems to be caring for them or about them. According to artist and curator Avani Rao Gundra, Hyderabad city still lags behind when it comes to commissioning expensive art. There has to be a civic sense and awareness, she points out. She further adds that awareness has to be created on social media.

According to residents of Punjagutta, a dead dog was found lying in a small pool of water under the Punjagutta flyover. At the same place, the Kathakali and Banjara dancer murals are hard to figure out, thanks to traffic fumes.