Unique measure to protect public walls from getting defaced

TIRUCHI

Tiruchi Corporation has introduced a public notice board system in what is seen as a unique move to check the deep-rooted practice of political parties and others to paste posters on public walls, .

It is a common sight to see the political parties, religious and social forums and the people pasting notices on public walls in different parts of the city, particularly at Palakarai, Thillai Nagar, Thennur High Road, Woraiyur, Varaganeri, and Srirangam. Fans of leading actors too come up with small to big-size posters on their birthdays on walls. The public walls are found with posters depicting mourning messages as well. Though there are several laws against defacing public walls, no one seems to bother them.

The civic authorities had made several attempts in the past to prevent the people from affixing bills on public walls. But, the initiatives had hardly led to any tangible result.

To find a solution to the long-pending issue, the Corporation has identified 25 prominent places in the city. In the first phase, the civic body has begun installing public notice boards at the identified spots. So far, 10 notice boards have been installed in different parts of the city, to provide space for the posters. As per the plan, five public notice boards will come up in each zone of the Corporation.

The novel idea has been received well by the people. “The idea has clicked very well. We have observed that the instances of pasting posters on public walls have come down drastically as the people have begun to use the public notice boards to convey their messages by posters,” says R. Vaithinathan, Commissioner, Tiruchi Corporation.

Before installing public boards, the Corporation authorities held a few rounds of meeting with the owners and employees of printing presses and the workers, who were usually hired for pasting posters. Besides explaining the provisions of various laws, the authorities gave instructions to the workers to affix bills only on public notice boards hereafter.