The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Landmarks behind billboards back in sight in Chennai

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Sunday, Apr 13, 2008
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Landmarks behind billboards back in sight in Chennai

Staff Reporter

Around 600 vinyl sheets and iron structures were dismantled

CHENNAI: Schools, trees, temple tanks and building facades that remained hidden behind huge billboards have become suddenly visible with the Chennai Corporation continuing with its work on Friday to remove unauthorised or unlicensed hoardings and those that obstructed visibility or posed a hazard.

It also removed the supporting iron structures at several places.

Around 600 vinyl sheets and iron structures were dismantled by the civic body on Friday, bringing the total to 3,600 vinyl sheets and 231 structures since Wednesday.

“The iron structures, brought down using gas cutters, are being moved to various properties belonging to the Corporation where they will be auctioned later. The hoardings are all unauthorised encroachments on Corporation property and have to be removed,” a senior official of the Corporation said.

Photos :S.R. Raghunathan, M. Karunakaran

now, it’s clean: Trees on Anna Salai were visible after the hoardings were pulled down by the Chennai Corporation. —

In the process of removal of hoardings, one person was injured on Thursday while removing a hoarding on Anna Salai.

Police said he was treated at Government General Hospital.

Meanwhile, members of the Tamil Nadu Outdoor Advertising Association have urged the State Government to regulate the hoarding industry and grant a fresh lease of life to the affected families by re-installing all licensed hoardings that had been removed.

Addressing a press conference, A.G. Nayakam, secretary of the association, said that in Chennai alone, thousands of families dependent on the industry were affected by the decision.

“If we had been given time, we would have removed the hoardings without much damage.

“But now our investments have gone down the drain and people in the outdoor advertising industry are in a quandary as to what to do,” added Mr. Nayakam.

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