ISLAMABAD, April 19: The election campaign is about to prove costlier to the candidates after Islamabad’s civic authority initiated an operation to keep streets clean not just of rubbish but also of the campaign material describing it as an illegal activity.
“The directorate of municipal administration (DMA) has also started serving notices on individuals who have been displaying streamers and banners as part of the election campaign,” said Mustafain Kazmi, the member planning of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). A special committee of the DMA is also making rounds of the city daily, removing illegally displayed promotional and election campaign materials.
According to the member planning, the measures were necessary knowing the tendencies of the people to abide by the law. “Hundreds of banners and streamers have already been removed. But the printed campaign material is just too much and some of them keep reappearing,” said Mr Kazmi.
He expressed the hope that those contesting the upcoming elections would get permission from the department concerned before putting up the costly printed material.
It is not just banners, streamers and posters that the authority is struggling to remove.
The CDA has another problem of graffiti on the walls of private and public buildings in various sectors.
“The law is the same for graffiti on the walls,” said Kazmi, explaining that putting up banners and streamers and even graffiti on the walls were all illegally.
He urged the contesters to go through proper channels of getting approval from the CDA to display their election messages at the numerous designated locations.
Another official with the public relations section of the civic agency said the fee for displaying campaign material was the same as any other advertisement. The official did not confirm the amount charged by the CDA.
“But rules are clear. In some places such as the Islamabad Express and the avenues, printed material can be displayed on the poles but not on trees,” said the official.
He also explained that individuals and organisations putting up banners and streamers could only do it for a limited period of time.
“If the time is a week, the law states that the advertisements and promotional contents must come down by the eighth day.”
The CDA is not the only one taking notice of the eyesores on every street light pole and trees across the capital city.
Alamgir Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Isteqlal and a candidate in the upcoming elections for the third consecutive time from NA-48 was warned last week against displaying posters and banners illegally.
“I was called by the returning officer who told me that I was putting up campaign material around the city without permission from the authorities concerned,” said Khan.