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.