TIRUCHY: In a novel initiative to curb defacement of public property, the city corporation has commenced a drive to set up dedicated ‘poster boards’ across the city. Currently implementing the idea at 25 identified spots in Ponmalai zone, the drive will cover all zones in the city, said Corporation Commissioner Dr R Vaithinathan.
Pointing out a series of meetings as having transpired between the civic body and those involved in poster business before the idea took wings, Commissioner Vaithinathan said, “In order to stop defacement of public property, we have to give a place for posters.
We can retrieve a wall but it is not possible to guard it all the time.” “We plan to instal them in all five zones, totalling 125 poster boards. We are also planning to put up LED boards for advertisements near bridges, which can be a possible revenue source for the corporation,” he added.
Stressing that the project is being implemented on a trial and error basis, he said, “If it doesn’t work we have to look for other ways. In the long run we are trying to do away posters on any walls so that we can paint and recover the city’s old walls.” R Parthiban, a resident of Tiruchy city, said he is thrilled with the idea and expressed interest in its effectiveness.
Those into the poster business, however, expressed concerns, stating that the idea is elitist and goes against the “fabric of wall culture” that is “deep rooted” in the city. R Chinnayan, one such person, said, “It is not practical. We post posters on a large scale and we were always given posters in bulk. One or two boards per area won’t be enough.”