KARACHI, Nov 24: Giant hoardings which had fallen from the rooftops of various buildings and claimed many lives in the rainy season some months back have started reappearing on major roads of the city, posing a danger to the life and property of citizens in general, and pedestrians and motorists in particular.
Irrespective of the jurisdiction of city government and cantonment boards, huge hoardings are being reinstalled on the rooftops of a number of buildings across the metropolis. The advertisers in connivance with the officials concerned of local tax department have also started erecting boards on footpaths, road islands and central medians of busy thoroughfares.
Over 100 hoardings had fallen when the torrential rains hit the coastal city in the last week of June this year that claimed nearly two hundred deaths in three days. The land controlling authorities soon afterwards indulged in the blame game by putting the responsibility of the grave damages and deaths on each other, which in the long run drew nothing but public criticism. The land controlling authorities, including the city government, different cantonment boards, Defence Housing Authority, Pakistan Railway and Civil Aviation Authority, were criticised for permitting the installation of such huge hoardings without considering their sustainability and strength. Subsequently, the authorities initiated a massive operation on war-footings for the removal of all hoardings, including the ones twisted and bent by the storm winds from their respective jurisdictions.
However, with the monsoon season already over, the bylaws on publicity hoardings are being openly flouted by the advertising companies apparently in connivance with officials of the city government’s local taxes department, who issue permission for billboards. For instance, no billboard can be erected on the central median of roads as they block the vision of motorists but one can see a number of hoardings on the central median of busy thoroughfares.
Similarly, billboards cannot be installed on footpaths unless they are at least seven feet above the footpath’s surface so that they cannot obstruct the pedestrians’ movement on the pavements. However, less than seven feet high hoardings can be spotted on the footpaths of a number of major thoroughfares.
Under another rule, a 90-feet-wide and 30-feet-long billboard can be installed on the rooftops of only those buildings which are at least six-storied but one can see giant billboard on ground-plus-four storey buildings. Besides, violations of many other rules on publicity hoardings annoy residents of multi-storey apartments who fear that a flying hoarding may play havoc with their lives.
A random visit to the city would show that a number of giant hoardings have re-appeared on Sharea Faisal, main University Road, Sir Shah Suleman Road, Karsaz Road, Shahrah-i-Quaideen, Rashid Minhas Road, Stadium Road and M.A. Jinnah Road.
It is pertinent to note here that the signal-free Sharea Faisal had been declared sign-free as well about two years back by the city government after President General Pervez Musharraf had taken a serious notice of the mushroom growth of publicity hoardings on the artery during his visit to Karachi.
