Hyderabad: Dazzling advertisements distracting motorists

Rajendranagar: The pillars of the PVNR Expressway are being used by some commercial establishments to hold their advertisements boards without permission, unmindful of the risk it holds for the commuters as well as the greenery promoted on the pillars by civic authorities.

Commuters plying on the stretch feel that these advertisements that hang over the piers from pillar no 118 in Attapur to pillar no 161 near RDO Office, Upperpalli, Rajendranagar are posing as a distraction to the motorists which may lead to freak accidents besides damaging the greenery promoted over the pillars.

Though the PVNR Expressway starts from Sarojni Naidu Eye Hospital in Mehdipatnam and ends up at Aram Ghar X Road in Rajendranagar covering almost 325 pillars, but only a small part of the road is being used as advertisements without permissions. These pillar advertisements have been coming up steadily from last year and have almost occupied 43 pillars in areas between Attapur and Upperpally. While latest and upcoming movies are being displayed on the hoardings on a few pillars, the others are used to promote business establishments existing close to expressway. "These hoardings have been placed inappropriately affecting the plantations developed by authorities over the pillars as part of beautification and giving a soothing ambience to the PVNR Expressway," said Jitender Reddy, a social activist who takes this route regularly.

The hoardings, he said, were huge in size covering a large part of the pillars and more so the advertisements as well as movie posters displayed were often quite intimating that diverted the attention of motorists.

"This may lead to accidents as the road from Attapur to Upperpalli have many bottlenecks and have a huge footfall largely constituting of school students and commoners. If any motorist loses his control over the vehicle due to distraction from advertisements, it may lead to freak accidents," he contended. Interestingly, only last year the HMDA officials removed wall paintings, promoting local schools, drawn over the Ramp Pillar at Upparpalli.

The officials, at that time cited that as the permission was not granted for the same, they are removing it. However, the officials failed to take similar action against the huge hoarding hanging over pillars from Attapur to Upparpally in last one year.

It is said that, upon knowing that HMDA would initiate action against hoarding advertisements, a party has approached the court and obtained a stay order in its favour. Since then, the case is stuck in the court and if the officials are to be believed they were pursuing the matter.

According to sources, "No permission has been granted for advertisements on pillars. A case is already pending in the court." Though the officials were claiming that they were pursuing the matter since a year and seeking urgent vacation of the stay granted in the matter, no progress was seen during last several months in the case.