A new trend has started in Jammu to which our city was ignorant for the last many years. It is the rising trend of hoardings which have been installed all across our city these days. There are so many types of hoardings that it can accommodate the requirements of all. You think of anything and you find a hoarding relating to it somewhere in Jammu. From real estate projects to consumer goods, from nappies to education institutes, we see all of these on one or the other hoardings. How can we forget political leaders when we talk of hoardings? You also get to see hoardings put up by political parties wishing their leaders a happy birthday or congratulating them on some electoral win or welcoming them into the city or just about anything! We find many leaders these days shining under the halogen lamps installed on these hoardings. There may be various purposes for which these hoardings are installed but one thing is common in them all. For all such hoardings, the favorite spot for installing it is decided by the foot fall of that particular area. Favorite places of the Jammu like all the busy markets as well as localities where people are in abundance have now become the official hoarding spots for anyone who has anything to sell or to show.
Initially, these sites where hoardings are installed are taken by any outdoor advertising agencies with the due permission from the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) after paying certain revenue to the JMC. These companies further, to earn from these sites give space to any business house or anyone who wants to showcase anything through these hoardings. In short, if you run a business, have a budget, no matter how small, for advertising, and believe in the effectiveness of hoardings, you won’t find it difficult to announce yourself in and around Jammu. The worst thing is that most of these hoardings which are erected near crucial points like dividing roads, intersections and prominent busy roads, situated near the both residential and commercial areas, pose a serious threat to commuters. These hoardings also become the reason for an accident as various instances like this have come into notice in Jammu. Basically these hoardings seek the attention of the general public and while driving or riding two wheeler, it becomes a cause of distraction and leads to accidents.
Of all these hoardings which are installed along the roads of Jammu many of them are illegally installed. There are all type of people who are violating the rules by putting up these illegal hoardings. The common example of this violation can be easily found among the political parties. The workers of these parties spend lakhs of rupees to highlight any political event like rallies, yatras etc. These supporters put up huge hoardings at every conceivable point in Jammu and favourite among them is Bikram Chowk, Gole Market, and Foot Bridge near Govt. College for Women in Gandhi Nagar. No action is taken against this segment of violators because they belong to the corridors of power. Officials of JMC seem to be under pressure from political parties and as a result they don’t take any action against the violators. Action should be taken against political parties whose hoardings violate the rules. Politicians however, argue that these hoardings do not bear the name of the person who put them up, so it gets difficult to prosecute the offender. But I think it’s high time and leaders should be made accountable for the acts of their party workers. Someone has to be made accountable for such activities of political parties. We cannot let them treat our city as their personal property.
However, it is not one odd case of illegal hoardings as many could be seen throughout the city. In the absence of any strict action, no one seems bothered about this rising illegal activity. As a result this illegal system of putting up hoarding is flourishing with every passing day in Jammu. The drives are done by JMC to remove illegal hoardings from different chowks and areas in Jammu but it seems to be unfruitful. The JMC doesn’t have any data on how many hoardings are actually illegally erected at various places in Jammu. “We periodically take action against illegal hoardings,” is all the department says. There seems to be an implied understanding between the JMC and illegal outdoor advertisers in making the best of the prevailing situation. Whatever the reason, the fact is the commercialization of the hoarding business. JMC spends money and its resources every time it has to get these illegal hoardings removed as it has to deploy a vehicle and three-four employees in each area to bring them down.
Various measures are needed to be taken by the authorities in order to ensure that this rising trend doesn’t create nuisance in near future. Strict action on ground level has to be taken by imposing heavy fines on all the violators. As all earlier warnings seem to be of no use because illegal hoardings are clearly visible in Jammu. Political leaders must ask their party members to refrain from putting up any hoardings in the city. All these hoardings spoil the beauty of the Jammu city & political leaders must act rationally as they are responsible for the betterment and welfare of the city. These political parties use so much money and put up such hoardings in the Jammu city instead they should use all these funds for betterment of the society. It is extremely annoying at times to see so many hoardings all around us. While the numbers of products on display continue to grow each day, the hoardings also change rapidly but that does not mean that we should forget the ill effects it has been carrying with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment