Hyderabad: Hoardings defacing PVNR pillars

Rajendranagar: To send a loud and clear message against defacement of roads, the GHMC authorities slapped flurry of panel notices to commercial establishments against commercialising PVNR Expressway Pillars at Attapur stretch. The authorities found that unmindful of the damage caused to the greenery on the median and posing risk to the commuters, the violators have been erecting hoardings on the pillars, just to promote their businesses.

GHMC authorities on Thursday started issuing twelve notices online against the hoardings erected on the pillars with a penalty of Rs 5,000 each that includes three schools, a shopping mall and a clinic. Among them one school got eight notices on its name with different invoice numbers for the advertisements it hangs on different pillars.

It is pertinent to mention here that the pillars from Attapur to RDO Office Rajendranagar were occupied with large size hoardings of different commercial establishments such as showrooms, institutions, schools, hospitals and clinics etc in order to attract the commuters passing through the roads.

According to authorities, these hoardings can be seen hanging from Pillar No. 118 Attapur to Pillar No. 161, RDO Office Upperpally. Out of a total of 325 pillars from Sarojini Naidu Eye Hospital Mehdipatnam to Prof Jaishankar Telangana State Agricultural University Rajendranagar a number of 43 pillars were occupied with illegal hoardings.

This includes promotional advertisement of movies, schools, academic institutions, apparel showrooms and clinics, etc all in an extensive size. Though the PVNR expressway was constructed several years ago but these hoardings cropped up over the past one year.

Interestingly, hinting a possible crack down of officials against the hoardings, a case was filed in the court last year to prevent the authorities from doing so. These 43 hoardings, since then, continue to hang on the pillars.

Though the officials say that the matter was being pursued in the court, however, no such attempts were visible on the ground.

"These eye-catching advertisements are distracting the attention of the commuters passing through the road, while killing the beautiful greenery on the pillars," said Jitender Reddy, a social activist from Attapur.

"It would be better if the authorities take the issue more seriously and remove these hoardings once and for all instead of imposing penalties," said Mir Shoukat Ali, a resident of Rajendranagar.