Remove hoardings, advertisement banners in three days: Kharar MC

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, June 19

Kharar Municipal Council is all set to crack down on illegal hoardings and banners put up within the council limits. It has given three-day time to the owners to remove all hoardings, banners and flex boards installed for the purpose of advertisement failing which action would be taken against them.

“The owners will be responsible for the expenses incurred on the removal of hoardings along with the fine,” stated the order issued by the office of council.

Officials said action would be taken against the owners under the Municipal Act 1911. Illegal advertisements without paying advertising fee dent the civic body’s revenue besides giving an ugly look to the place.

Public places, parks, residential areas and electricity poles bear a large number of advertising boards and banners giving a bad look to the area.

It is also a safety hazard during rain and duststorm, as boards get uprooted and also get entangled in electricity lines. “The enforcement wing of the Municipal Council takes out a campaign from time to time to remove these hoardings but these re-appear. A fine will be imposed on offenders now,” said an MC official.

On June 12, the police booked the owner and director of Oxford Street, Zirakpur, for endangering human lives and causing loss or damage in the unipole collapse on June 5. A total of five cars were damaged as the 40-ft-high unipole carrying three advertising boards fell on the vehicles. The same day, a unipole in High Street on VIP Road fell on two cars.

Zirakpur MC still sleeping

Despite two major incidents around a fortnight ago, Zirakpur MC has not taken any action against the offenders, nor has it carried out any drive against illegal hoardings. There are scores of big unipoles and hoardings in the urban areas of Mohali, which need to be audited for structural stability, said local residents.