Life sans flex in sight

KOCHI: Kochi Corporation authorities are relieved over the state government’s decision on Wednesday to ban flex boards. The repeated efforts of the civic administration to make the city free of flex boards had failed to succeed.

Though Mayor Tony Chammany had convened a meeting of representatives of political parties to reach a consensus on not erecting flex-boards of party leaders in city limits, the move failed because of non-cooperation of parties. Now with a ban, the town planning committee of the corporation can take legal action against illegal boards.

Welcoming the decision, town planning committee chairman K. J Sohan said that the move would definitely help the civic body to resolve the problem of pollution by flex boards. “With the prohibition, the civic body and district administration can take penal action against those who illegally erect flex boards.

Though we have initiated several measures to regularise use of flex boards, the city is still flooded with boards bearing the faces of political leaders, film posters and illegal display boards,” he said.

Civic experts and environmentalists have been raising concerns over the irreparable damage caused to the environment and urban landscape by the toxic flex boards made of PVC. “Disposal of flex boards is a big issue as they are non-biodegradable and not recyclable either. The ban on flex boards is a welcome step,” said Purushan Eloor, green activist.

The civic administration had enforced an Advertisement Bylaw in March 2012 to curb the display of illegal advertisement boards. However, posters of political parties, social and religious organisations are indiscriminately stuck on walls, on top of buildings and even on trees. Hundreds of big and small flex boards, tied to lamp posts, telephone poles and railings, are like blots on the city’s landscape.