Punish those defacing public properties, Patiala DC tells police
Patiala, June 14
The district administration has warned of strict action against private operators who deface public properties with posters and paint in the city. However, the defacement continues, despite objections raised by the city residents. The administration has now warned of legal action, as per law, against the defaulters and asked the local police officers to curb the menace.
Patiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray has asked officials of the local police department to initiate a drive against those pasting posters and banners on government properties, sign boards and also erecting illegal hoardings. “I have asked the police to identify and register cases as per law,” he said.
A majority of the violators are training centres providing English language coaching. Not only government properties, these violators are not even afraid of pasting bills on private properties, especially commercial.
Moreover, signboards on major roads outside the city have also been defaced by miscreants, that too in Punjabi. “This is causing inconvenience to commuters coming from other states who do not know how to read in the language. Suppose you visit Mizoram, and don’t know their language. What will you do, if all signboards are in their native language? The authorities must wake up from slumber and shoulder their responsibilities,” said Amandeep Bhatia, an advocate at the district court in the city.
Residents said posters and pamphlets are pasted on walls of hospitals, offices of the administration, underpasses and other unregulated paintings in various areas, which further tarnishes the beauty of the city.
“The administration says they would take immediate action against violators. They remove posters, but these appear again after a while. We want the administration to impose hefty fines on violators to curb the menace. The police should act tough against the violators as well,” said Arjesh Garg, a senior citizen.
Officials said they imposed fines on violators recently, and this exercise would become a regular feature now. “Checking defacement in the city is a continuous process. We have held a number of meetings with officials of the Municipal Corporation in this regard. Separate instructions will be issued to police officials in order to take action against violators defacing public and private properties in the city,” a senior official said.
