Laudatory banners on direction towers inconvenience commuters
PK Jaiswar
Amritsar, October 6
A religious organisation has put up congratulatory banners on the direction towers and unipoles installed on main GT Road from Putlighar to railway station in complete violations of norms.
Ironically, one such banner also adorned the pictures of senior police officials, including Police Commissioner Naunihal Singh and Deputy Police Commissioner Parminder Singh Bhandal, besides several other cops.
The towers that inform the commuters about where these roads lead to were completely covered.
Being a holy city, Amritsar is a major religious and tourist destination. It witnesses the maximum footfall with thousands of tourists visiting the Golden Temple and Wagah border. The covering of the signages with banners has meant difficulty in finding the road directions for the commuters.
This has invited criticism from local residents also. “If any organisation wants to put up banners, they can hire advertising unipoles installed on almost all the roads in the city for the purpose,” said a local resident Vijay Kumar while adding that at least the direction towers should be spared.
Kumar Darshan of the organisation said that they had put up banners only for a few days in view of the coming Parkash Utsav of Bhagwan Valmiki. “It would be removed after the event and we would keep this in mind while putting up banners in future,” he said while pointing out that many organisations indulge in such practices and singling out a community is not good.
“We do it only on some pious occasions while many organisations and political parties put up their illegal hoardings in every nook and corner of the city in a clandestine manner with the authorities turning a blind eye towards it,” he pointed out.
While Police Commissioner Naunihal Singh could not be contacted for his comments, DCP Bhandal said that he had no information about any such banner as they were put up without his information. He pointed out that it was the duty of civic authorities to get illegal banners removed.
Pushpinder Singh, in-charge, advertisement wing (MC), said he was not aware of it and would depute an official to visit the spot and get these banners removed.
