After the unfortunate Mumbai hoarding collapse incident that claimed 17 lives and left 75 others injured on May 13, BMC has started to inspect not only the illegal ad hoardings but also the authorised hoardings in the city, with ward offices asking the owners/ agencies to carry out a structural audit of the hoardings.
Spurring into action, the civic bodies in various other cities have also taken significant steps to curb the menace of illegal hoardings.
Pune
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has pulled down more than 20 illegal hoardings and issued notices to owners of 18 others. Yesterday, Municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh said that action against unauthorised hoardings will be taken even if pressure is exerted by political leaders. He said that legal action would be taken against the hoarding owner and the owner of the place today if unauthorised structures are not removed. Additionally, if the licence is not renewed by hoarding owners by March 31 every year, their licence will not be renewed. While putting up advertisement board or hoarding, it is necessary to write instructions for citizens at the bottom of the board, it was decided in a meeting that was held recently.
A sample of these instructions will be given to hoarding owners on behalf of the Sky Sign Department of PCMC. If there is any encroachment or any kiosk is set up under the hoarding, the owner of the place must inform the civic body. The commissioner also warned that the civic body will take eviction action against the kiosk or encroachment. A new facility will be made available on behalf of PCMC on the Smart Sarathi app—the body is aiming to keep track of unauthorised hoardings by using technology.
Chennai
The Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Dr J Radhakrishnan directed civic officials to remove all illegal hoardings and audit the structural stability of approved ones in the metro city. So far, the civic body had already removed 460 illegal billboards as part of an ongoing drive. Also, the zonal officials have been asked to identify such “unsafe” hoardings that may pose a threat to people’s lives.
“Hoardings that pose a threat to people near petrol bunks, parking lots, and open areas where the wind velocity is high would be removed,” he said. Moreover, the commissioner also said that a decision on applications to install fresh hoardings will be taken after the period of the model code of conduct for the ongoing election ends.
Kolhapur
Officials of the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) have directed hoarding owners to check the stability of the structure and put up a sign telling people not to stand under the hoardings during stormy winds or rain. Estate officer Vilas Salokhe said that it is mandatory to get a structural audit report of hoardings every year from the engineer on the municipal panel and submit it to the municipal estate department. They found four hoardings in the city illegal and notices were given to the people concerned to take down the structures immediately.
Deputy commissioner of KMC Sadhana Patil said adequate precautions should be taken to ensure hoardings do not collapse due to strong winds and heavy rain in the city.
Panvel/ Navi Mumbai
The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) has pulled down five of the 33 illegal hoardings and has also ordered a structural audit of the legal hoardings by structural engineers certified by it. Whereas the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has removed 31 illegal hoardings from its jurisdiction. PMC commissioner Prashant Rasal said that there are a total of 87 hoardings in its jurisdiction that have the requisite permission. The owners have all been issued notices to get structural audits done by civic-registered structural engineers.
Raipur
Raipur Municipal Commissioner Abinash Mishra chaired a meeting of directors of various ad agencies and the corporation officials and asked to ensure that the Mumbai-like tragedy should not happen in Raipur. He then instructed the directors and representatives of more than 90 advertising agencies to submit to the RMC within a week the structural report of their hoardings put up in the city. The ad agencies will have to submit a certificate related to the structural probe to the town and country planning department of the RMC, the official said. The commissioner instructed that no untoward incident should take place in Raipur due to hoardings and all necessary measures should be taken to prevent billboards from falling
Delhi
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) ordered an audit of the structural safety of hoardings, unipoles, and other advertisement structures in the national capital. In Delhi, the size of hoardings is capped at 32×16 feet for roads wider than 100 feet and 20×10 feet for roads less than 100 feet in width. Apart from the MCD, the Central Railway authorities also directed all its five divisions to conduct an audit of all such structures in their respective zones.
#FreeOurSkylines – Fight against illegal ad hoardings: A terrible tragedy struck on May 13 after a 100-foot-tall illegal billboard fell at a petrol pump in Ghatkopar during dust storms and unseasonal rains in Mumbai. The killer hoarding caused the deaths of over a dozen people and injured many others. The catastrophic incident outraged citizens who have been dealing with the menace of illegal ad hoardings. The people don’t want just answers but solutions, as they turn to civic authorities, advertising agencies, industry bodies, brand marketers, and media owners, to take responsibility and fight against the menace of illegal advertising hoardings. So speak up and join the #FreeOurSkylines movement. Write to us at Storyboard18@nw18.com with your concerns and views, and let’s make our cities safer together.
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