Battle of the Hoardings! Free Publicity Galore Via Illegal Banners/Hoardings

Battle of the Hoardings! Free Publicity Galore Via Illegal Banners/Hoardings

Mangaluru: Illegal Flex Hoardings including those of Netas, defacing beautiful Kudla again! For a while Kudla wore a nice look without the display of bunch of colorful and ugly hoarding and banners that had haunted this coastal city for a long long time- and after MCC Mayor Kavitha Sanil took the leadership, she had directed her officials to bring down all illegal hoardings/banners that were displayed in the City without permission from MCC. But once again during the last few days flex hoardings/banners have been displayed-those of Kambala, Wine Festival, Religious and Political programmes etc etc. Hampankatta Circle/Wenlock Area which was free from hoardings for sometime, is once again defaced with huge hoardings, taking away the “Smart Look” ” of the “Smart City”?

Call it the “Visual Pollution” caused by illegal hoardings, on one side these Netas urge people to not to use Flex banners..but on the other hand they are the ones who break the law, regarding the display of illegal flex hoardings/banners banned by the government. And the sad and bad part is that the leaders themselves are breaking the law, which was strictly implemented by the government. Seems like “We Don’t Practice What We Preach” kind of motto. I think there’s a need to break the nexus between corporators, MLAs and bureaucrats when it comes to this flex menace. Most flex boards and hoardings are the work of followers of public representatives of that ward or constituency.

Looks like short-staffed MCC is not in a position to deal with these followers who shoo away ground staff. Rumours are that instances of MCC officials being stopped or harassed when they tried to remove flex boards. Flexes come up all of a sudden during festivals, VIP birthdays, achievements of community leaders etc which have to be later removed by MCC staff. In spite of MCC’s drive against illegal flex boards and hoardings, many hoardings and flex boards have surfaced once again-even when there is the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act- But what action, if any, has been initiated against the culprits is not known. By bringing this law, will any of these officials crack down on the flexes that have been put up, either by politicians or others? Far from it, MCC will go after the small local business people who put up small flexes here and there?- and pardon those politicians hoardings or hoardings put up by influential persons. What a corrupt city are we living in managed by corrupt officials?

The lethargy of the city corporation has resulted in the mushrooming of such flex hoardings and banners in the city. When the hoardings and banners speak themselves who put them the corporation could easily fine them. But there is no will. As there is no fear of fine or any legal action people have continued to deface public places. The need of the hour is strong penalties and punishment. There’s punishment of imprisonment of six months or fine which may extend up to Rs 1,000 or both. So far, there’s only talk about filing criminal cases against erecting illegal flex boards- but no action. This showcase a city made ugly by the haphazard growth of these illegal flex hoardings/banners…

Advertisement billboards are bad enough by themselves and added to that the political related hoardings are worse as they are put up anywhere and everywhere and one on top of another and in spaces not meant for hoardings. Most of them are put up for trivial and laughable reasons, and to felicitate political leaders on their “minor” achievement, or welcome them to the city and so on. The intention of this report with photographs not to show the ineffectiveness of the drive against the political billboards as some of them have gone now, although many remain particularly in the outskirts of the City-like Kulur, Panambur etc. The drive leaves much to be desired no doubt but it’s a start. I can only hope that it’s not a mere flash in the pan and not restricted to elite areas of the city.

Hoardings/banners also disturb motorists, affecting their vision in high-traffic areas of the City, especially during the night. Sometimes these banners are a nuisance to vehicle drivers when they hang down loose and hurt the motorists. But MCC doesn’t care for the safety of the motorists, or pedestrians. Even though a few ad agencies take permission from MCC to display the banners/hoardings, but the majority of the publicity materials that you see around the City are without MCC approval, but displayed illegally. When it comes to hoardings/banners of religious/seminars/festivals, MCC takes it easy on them, giving them time to display their banners. But why? Laws should be equal for everyone, irrespective of caste, or religion, etc etc.

Why also allow religious banners to be displayed- this will create confusion among others when they want to display their banners”. But compare to other Mayors we had so far, Mayor Kavitha is doing much better in her actions solving most of the civic issues so far- but she still needs to be more strict! Probably she is lacking the support of her colleagues?

How can one expect people to follow the rules, when the government officials themselves break the law. Call it then examples of advertising vandalism, visual pollution or label them as the pox of outdoor advertising!

Though I am not against advertising or against the politicians, the number of billboards in our cities has reached epidemic proportions and I have developed an allergy to them. And guess what, most of them are illegal. Ours is one of the few countries in the world where hoardings/banners are displayed anywhere and everywhere in spite of the supreme court order banning hoardings because they are hazardous to motorists. So why are these illegal hoardings/banners still out there on the streets, including those of the politicians-thereby defacing the beauty of the City. Is this what “Swachh Mangaluru” is all about?