Kerala - Kozhikode   

Unauthorised hoardings cost citizens dear

Biju Govind

Steering Committee to discuss issue today, illegal hoardings to be pulled down soon

MEN AT WORK: Labourers repairing a hoarding that got damaged in strong winds on the premises of the mofussil bus stand in Kozhikode. — Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

KOZHIKODE: Think twice before you seek shelter under the shed of an uninhabited building, a hoarding or a tree when it rains. It could be a death trap.

Corporation officials admit that most of the billboards are erected without conforming to safety norms. And, some of the old and weak trees in the city could be uprooted in the gale and incessant rain.

At least seven persons were injured, one of them critically, in three incidents on Monday. Three of them were injured when the roof of a defunct petrol bunk fell on them. P. Bijeesh, hailing from Nenmanda, who sustained injuries on the head is still in a serious condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Baby Memorial Hospital here.

In another incident, two pedestrians were injured after a billboard collapsed on Mavoor Road. Two motorists were also injured when the branches of a tree came down on them.

More hoardings are broken or are in a bad condition at the mofussil bus stand, Nadakkavu, C.H. flyover, Mavoor Road, Eranhipalam, Palayam, Link Road and Arayadathupalam. Some of the existing billboards are in a dilapidated condition although these had been erected with the Corporation's approval.

Last week, two students were killed and 24 others, including children, injured when a tree fell on the shed of a school at Panangad in Balussery.

The injured students and teachers were recuperating from their injuries at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, V.K. Rajendran, hospital superintendent, said.

The Corporation had mooted new safety norms for erecting hoardings after many were injured and property was damaged in rain and strong winds in April. A proposal was chalked out to issue certificate of safety to the contractors before erecting billboards. But the proposal was still pending, an official said.

Meanwhile, Mayor Thottathil Raveendran said the Steering Committee, comprising chairmen of various standing committees, will meet on Wednesday to take a decision to pull down unauthorised hoardings in the city. "Steps will be taken to check the existing hoardings. New norms will also be introduced, '' he said.

The civic authorities usually collect revenue from advertisements put up by private parties after awarding them contract every year. But they do not inspect the maintenance of these advertisements.

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