Vijayawada: Despite a complete ban on wall posters in the city, the apathy of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials in enforcing the ban continues to defile city’s walls with cinema, religious, and other commercial posters.
For the record, the VMC declared Vijayawada a poster-free city in 2018. However, it has failed to maintain momentum in preventing private entities from sticking wall posters across the city.
“Wall posters, mainly of devotional gatherings, educational institutions, and political parties, erected by unknown persons, are defiling the city’s walls,” a senior official from the town planning department in VMC told TOI. The official noted that posters advertising devotional gatherings taking place in far-off places in neighboring districts are also being pasted in the city.
Apart from posters related to religious, political, and educational institutions, private hospital managements are using central median dividers on roads to put up display boards illegally, without obtaining prior permission from the municipal corporation. For instance, Vijayawada city houses numerous private hospitals in Suryaraopet and neighboring areas, and a majority of these hospitals have erected flex banners and posters on walls and buildings without seeking permission from the authorities.
“The municipal corporation allows individuals and institutions to erect posters, banners, and display boards for a certain period, provided they submit a prior request to the authorities. However, unknown individuals are putting up posters, stickers, and flex banners during nighttime,” the town planning official said.
Recently, the civic body imposed Rs 50,000 fine on a private hospital under the Prevention of Disfigurement of Open Places and Prohibition of Obscene and Objectionable Posters and Advertisements Act, 1997 (Act 28 of 1997) for placing display boards on the central median dividers in the city.
Officials mentioned that they will coordinate with printing press owners and sensitize them to collect details of individuals who approach them for printing posters, flex banners, and other materials without permission. These details will be provided to the municipal corporation to further prevent unauthorised postings.
