Hyderabad: Despite the height of advertisement hoardings being capped at 15 feet, unused skeletal frames that were used to host such hoardings continue to linger along the roads, posing a grave threat to commuters.
The directorate of enforcement vigilance and disaster management (EV&DM) ordered a ban on taller hoardings in April 2020 — through GO 68 that specifies a fine of Rs 1 lakh per day if height exceeds 15 feet — as the collapse of such hoardings during monsoon led to property damage and posed life threats.
In the three years since, there has been no further action to check whether these frames were done away with.
Pooswamy Jayaraman, a commuter and a private employee, said: “Worn out and rusted frames continue to remain erected. If the accidently fall during rains, they can be dangerous. What are the civic authorities waiting for? Do they act only after an untoward incident happens? More priority needs to be given to human lives.”
However, those working for advertising agencies said that a case in this regard is pending in court and they are hoping for relief.
An employee of M/S Ask Media, identifying himself as Mirza, said: “Many advertising agencies had invested a lot of money on these structures and paid rent for two years for the buildings to have our advertising hoarding frames on their properties. The ban meant that all those payments were in vain.”
“Immediately, as the order copy of ban was released, we dismantled all our advertisement frames. But, a few agencies knocked the doors of the court for allowing them. The court gave a stay order and the case is still pending,” he said.
A senior official of the advertising department of GHMC said, “The corporation had cleared many such advertisement frames. The remaining ones spotted alongside roads are from those advertisement agencies which have taken the matter to the court.”
