Tiruchi Corporation steps up drive to check poster menace

Tiruchi Corporation tackles poster defacement in public areas to enhance city aesthetics and traffic flow.

Tiruchi Corporation has stepped up efforts to remove posters and painted slogans from the walls of the city’s public areas, to improve the city’s image.

The defacement of Tiruchi’s public areas with posters and slogans, has turned most walls into eyesores and has also led to a culture of standalone flex boards that hinder the smooth movement of traffic.

“We hope to clear up most of the walls by the end of the month. For the past few days, we have also begun removing flex boards. Most of the posters can be seen in Zone 2 and Zone 3 (Ariyamangalam and Tiruverumbur). The problem is under control in Rock Fort, Devadhanam, Thiruvanaikoil, Ponmalai and K. Abishekapuram,” a senior Corporation official told The Hindu.

A few posters advertising fitness gyms and health-related services posted all over the walls in Ariyamangalam were removed recently by Corporation cleaners. Birthdays of film stars, and obituary notices of national leaders and local residents are all commonly announced through posters these days.

Stray cows and goats can also be seen grazing on the paper posters that are often stuck to the walls with flour or starch-based glue.

Of late, the walls of flyovers and bridges have also become canvasses for the city’s billboard artists, especially ahead of political meetings, when slogans are painted in bold colours and large typeface.

Walls that had been adopted for city beautification drives have also become defaced with posters, defeating the purpose of the initiative.