COIMBATORE: Buses of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) will soon get rid of the topside advertisements that block sunlight and hinder the view of the standees.
Following a high court directive, the Corporation has directed all its branches to remove advertisements placed on the topside glass panels of its buses.
As per the Madras High Court's direction, advertisements should not be placed on the side panels of TNSTC buses. Accordingly, branch managers have been instructed to remove the advertisements from these panels by Saturday and submit a report on the removal promptly, reads a circular.
All corporation branches have begun removing these advertisements on the orders of senior officials.
A senior officer at TNSTC Salem division, who did not wish to be named, told TNIE that these advertisements were displayed on mofussil buses across the state.
"In the Salem division, out of 2,000 buses, advertisements were placed on around 1,000 buses, and so far, they have been removed from about 60%. To speed up the process, we have set a deadline of October 25. Removing advertisements from the side panel takes considerable time. The work is being carried out gradually," he said.
A senior officer from the Coimbatore division also said that the work is underway and steps have been taken to complete it as soon as possible.
Welcoming this move, R Mohanraj, state assistant secretary of the Tamil Nadu Government Transport Uniform Employees Union, told TNIE that placing advertisements in buses is against the Motor Vehicles Act.
He added that he had already petitioned the transport department, urging that fitness certificates should not be issued to buses as advertisements cause inconvenience to passengers in various ways.
He alleged that no steps had been taken earlier and following the court's directive advertisements affixed using vinyl stickers are now being removed from buses.
"Passengers who are standing in buses cannot see outside or spot their stops on either side. The bus becomes dark inside during daylight. Such advertisements can be distracting for passengers," he explained its disadvantages.
Passengers would feel more comfortable during their travel with the removal of these ads, he added.
K Kathirmathiyon, secretary of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause, told TNIE that TNSTC is violating Motor Vehicle Act, by displaying advertisements on buses for revenue purposes.
"As per the norms, advertisements can only be placed on the back panel of buses, and TNSTC must obtain approval from the Regional Transport Offices to display them. The TNSTC is also required to pay tax on advertisement revenue to the local bodies, but none of these have been done. Even now, advertisements cover the slot below passenger windows on both sides of the buses. This is a violation, and TNSTC must remove the advertisements from the buses," he said.
A top officer from TNSTC told TNIE, "There might have been a few vehicles from which they could not be removed yet as all vehicles were deployed for special operations for Deepavali. They would be removed 100% in a few days."
