Poster menace mars city aesthetics

Poster menace nullifies efforts to beautify city
The Hindu

BANGALORE, OCT. 12. While residents of many parts of Bangalore are busy protesting against the failure of the authorities to repair roads, the Residents' Welfare Association of Sanjaynagar is seeing red at the way walls are being defaced by posters for advertising assorted merchandise and services and advertisement boards nailed on tree trunks and branches.

V. Sathyamurthy, association president, said residents had approached the Commissioner of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), K. Jothiramalingam, in this regard more than a month ago but there was no positive response. "All the work done to beautify the city by the Government, the BMP and the Bangalore Development Authority are nullified by this growing menace of defacing walls and trees,'' he said.

Many residents of other localities too who are concerned about the damage done to avenue trees.

Those fixing signs on trees invariably select high branches and nail the signs deep so that they cannot be easily removed. When the nails start rusting, they may poison the trees and this may lead to the withering of the trees.

Favourite places

Posters are found almost everywhere, but the walls of underpasses such as those at Mehkri Circle and near Windsor Sheraton Hotel appear to be more attractive to those pasting them. Posters can also be found at bus terminals and stops, railway stations and near places of worship. The tall walls of the race course are another attraction. The pillars and supporting walls of flyovers have not been spared either.

"The main culprits are cinema halls and film distributors, political parties, religious organisations and businesses. Boards nailed on tree trunks frequently advertise computer training institutes,'' Mr. Sathyamurthy said.

Concerned citizens point out that other cities have tried to prevent the poster menace. In Delhi, posters can only be fixed to plywood boards, away from walls. Or else, they have to be regular billboards. Such a system could be followed in Bangalore, they suggest.

What irks citizens is that the civic body practically earns nothing from this kind of advertising, which is done clandestinely at night.

A few civic administrators have tried to remove posters, including those pasted by major political parties, but this effort has not been sustained.

Suggestions

Community leaders have suggested easy ways to stop the poster menace. They say the BMP could display prominent boards in Kannada and English warning of punishment for sticking posters.

Defence authorities and many educational institutions have put up such boards.

A special squad could be formed in association with the city police to patrol roads at night and catch culprits at work. Those caught could be fined heavily.

Another suggestion is for the BMP to hold discussions with cinema owners and film distributors that hoardings at designated spots will be more effective than posters which can be easily torn away.

Political parties and religious organisations too could be dissuaded from using wall posters.