MEGA billboards erected in all major cities are not only non-aesthetic and clutter the landscape but also consistently pose a threat to lives and properties of the people. Nobody exactly knows as to how many people have been killed or injured over the years as a result of collapse of these billboards while half hearted campaigns launched against their removal have so far proved to be inadequate against this menace.
Karachi city’s administrator and Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani has once again issued directions against setting up of billboards on footpaths, directing that only small sized structures be installed on buildings. How far the city’s administrator succeeds in implementing its orders this time around is yet to be seen but there is also a judgment of the Supreme Court on the issue in which it had ordered removal of billboards from all public properties across Karachi including cantonment areas and housing societies. It is unfortunate that this order also fell on deaf ears. How did fall of these advertising structures because of monsoon rainfalls over the last two years played havoc with lives of Karachiites is known to everybody, horrific scenes which were also captured and shown by television channels.
Outdoor advertising is an extremely rewarding business. Even green belts and footpaths in some places are commercialised, clearly an illegal step given they are amenities and hence cannot be put to commercial use. Time has come to find a permanent solution of the problem which of course will not be an easy one given the fact that this is a source of major earnings for many including the municipalities. The large sized billboards should be totally banned not only in Karachi but other cities as well. A standard size should be fixed for these structures – the one which does not threaten lives of people and also ensures that cities retain the look for which they are best known.
