Hyderabad: One sees banners, flexies, life size posters and towering cutouts of politicos staring back from almost every under construction Metro rail pillar, electricity poles, flyovers, public spaces and even private properties in the city.
Banners wishing leaders on their birthdays, posters thanking them and welcoming them for some ceremony have increased manifold and are turning Hyderabad into an eyesore.
For instance, in Tarnaka one can see pink posters featuring Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on almost every Metro rail pillar.
“I see pink posters whichever way I turn these days,” said an annoyed V. Suresh who works in a software firm near Tarnaka.
A TRS party worker from Malkajgiri, who was giving directions on placement of nearly half-a-dozen flexies featuring MLA Kanaka Reddy said, “This is needed. We have to get our work done. How else do you think we will be in their (party leaders’) good books?”
On Friday, the High Court ordered the authorities to get rid of these eyesores. “I have been lodging complaints on this issue for a long time. They remove posters whenever complaints are lodged. But the problem is that the GHMC is not proactive,” said RTI activist Syed Shah Ali Hussaini.
“GHMC rules on the disfigurement of any public or private property state that a penalty of Rs 2,000 will be imposed for each poster, and Rs 5000 for unauthorised erection of banners,” added Mr Hussaini.
GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar, however, denied allegations about lax of enforcement of rules. “When political parties request us that they have a meeting and want to put up banners, we let them do so for a period of 24 hours. After that we ensure that they are removed,” he said.
