Activist removes 15 hoardings that were affecting traffic

Trichy: More than 15 hoardings placed in the Right of Way (RoW) of arterial roads including highways passing through the city were removed by activist Traffic Ramaswamy on Friday. The 84-year-old activist also petitioned authorities including city police and civic body, insisting the stakeholders not to hesitate in taking actions against illegal hoardings under the provisions of Tamil Nadu Public Properties Damage (TNPPD) Act.

Even though it is mandatory for private companies or outfits to obtain permission in prior to place hoardings, it is alleged that the authorities were bypassed by individuals as well as groups, mostly political parties. Since the hoardings were placed without paying advertisement charges to Trichy City Corporation, revenue loss is imminent for the civic body. Besides it is also a safety threat for road users with hoardings positioned in blind spots. While authorities including civic body and city police were hesitant, Ramaswamy, a renowned road safety activist with the support of police removed more than 15 banners across Subramaniapuram, Bharathidasan salai and Karur bypass road on Friday.

“Even the banners that have permission from civic body should have a time frame, after which the hoardings are ought to be removed. But there are several life size banners illegally placed in arterial roads for several weeks,” Ramaswamy told TOI. While authorities are entitled to levy a penalty up to Rs10,000 under TNPPD Act, the activist said that stakeholders have not initiated any action thus far to end the banner culture.

“Trichy Corporation commissioner N Ravichandran was reiterated to take stern actions against offenders damaging public properties. If heavy penalty is levied once, it will teach a befitting lesson to frequent violators,” Ramaswamy added.

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