The Hindu 19.07.2013
Civic body flexes muscles against hoardings
Civic authorities plan to rid the city of illegal flex boards and display advertisements within a fortnight.
The
drive which began two weeks ago yielded around 50 loads of flex boards.
A portion of the seized boards was auctioned off recently.
The auction, however, did not yield much benefit to the civic body as the used flex sheets are not in demand.
Permanent
squads comprising officials of the Town Planning, Health and Revenue
departments of the corporation have been formed for the purpose. The
support of the police has also been sought, K.J. Sohan, chairman of the
Town Planning Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation, has said.
Advertisements
displayed by commercial establishments and cinemas posters formed a
major portion of the seized material. Old posters and other publicity
material displayed by political parties, religious and socio-cultural
organisations were also removed.
After the clean-up
drive, the corporation plans to allot vantage points for display of
advertisements. The right for displaying the advertisements will be
auctioned off. Those interested in displaying the advertisements should
approach the selected agencies, he said.
Mr. Sohan
said a consensus needed to be evolved regarding the display of
advertisements of political parties and religious organisations.
Removing these materials might lead to friction and resistance. The
Kochi Mayor would be requested to convene a meeting for evolving an
agreement on such advertisements, he said.
