KOCHI: Although anti-defacement squads constituted by the district collector recently to ensure that political parties placed campaign boards in compliance with existing rules, flexes and hoardings continue to mushroom in many parts of the district causing difficulties for motorists and pedestrians alike.
According to a resident, hoardings and flags featuring political candidates put up near Thammanam junction, which are in a precarious position, are a constant source of worry for the pedestrians in the area.
“Hoardings and flex boards are placed in almost every major junction of the city. Even though the lower part of some of the hoardings is inside private properties, the upper portion is protruding towards the road which is a huge threat to safety of commuters”, said T N Prathapan, a social worker and activist.
According to him, Ponnurunni and Vyttila are the other two areas in the city where hoardings have been causing problems to the public. According to Harish Vasudevan, advocate and amicus curiae appointed by the court to take action against illegal hoardings in the city, hoardings that create problems for the public and which are against road safety should not be allowed.
“Cases can be charged against the violators under Panchayati Raj Act, Municipality Act or under the Indian Penal Code. A fine of `10,000 can also be charged by the authorities under the Kerala Land Conservancy Act,” Harish said. He said that the High Court had given a series of directions under Justice Devan Ramachandran in the past two years for solving the issue of illegal hoardings and flex boards.
“All panchayat secretaries and police station house officers have been directed to take action against those who violate this. Collectors have also been told to monitor the same,” he said. Based on the order of the district collector, the Kochi Corporation had removed illegal hoardings and flex boards in many parts of the city. Thoppumpady, Amaravathy, Mattancherry, Edappally, Kadavanthra, Nadakkavu, Thevara and MG Road are the areas where the boards have been removed. According to district administration officials, around 30 illegal hoardings have been removed in the past few days.