A pink house in the town of Aurangabad.

Authorities in eastern India are painting a crime-infested town pink in the hope that an image makeover will lift the sagging morale of residents who are fed up with the decline in law and order, officials said on Monday.

The ancient town of Aurangabad in Bihar - one of India's most backward and poorest states - is a hotbed of crime ranging from killing, extortion, kidnapping and inter-caste wars.

Officials say the idea of painting the city pink originated from the dominant Rajput community, who migrated from the western state of Rajasthan where the capital, Jaipur is known as the pink city of India.

"Only a few buildings (in Jaipur) bear the pink color. Aurangabad will actually be the country's real pink city," said Arvind Kumar Singh, a senior government official who is also a Rajput.

With the city's two million residents complaining about poor quality of life and depression due to crime, officials said they had decided to paint the city pink ahead of the Hindu festival of light, Diwali, on October 21.

Local residents said they welcomed the new lick of paint to the town. "The town does not seem to carry any of its past look and we feel happy about it," said Santosh Kumar, a local businessman.

据印度有关官员周一介绍，印度东部一小镇因犯罪猖獗、法制秩序混乱，当地政府决定将小镇上的建筑物都刷成粉红色，以此振作民心。

这个名叫奥兰加巴德的古镇位于印度最为落后和贫穷的比哈尔邦，这里的人民长期饱受杀人、敲诈勒索、绑架和帮派内战等犯罪事件的困扰。

有关官员说，将小镇刷成粉红色这个想法源自当地的拉其普特人，他们从印度西部的拉贾斯坦邦迁移至此，而拉贾斯坦邦的首都斋浦就是个“粉红之都”。

当地政府一名高官拉其普特人阿温德·库马尔·辛格说：“斋浦只有几个建筑物是粉红色的，奥兰加巴德会成为印度真正的‘粉红之城’”。

由于奥兰加巴德犯罪猖獗，小镇的200万居民对他们的生活质量和当地的萧条景象极为不满。有关官员说他们决定赶在10月21日印度排灯节之前完工。

当地居民表示，他们很支持这个新鲜的想法。当地商人桑托斯·库马尔说："小镇旧貌换新颜，我们感到很高兴。"

 

 

Vocabulary:

makeover :renovation（改装；革新）