GUWAHATI: The Mumbai and Pune hoarding mishaps, which killed around 17 people and injured many, have sent shockwaves across the country with many city authorities planning a crackdown against illegal and unsafe hoardings, unipoles and other outdoor advertising mediums.
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Cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore have floated tenders requesting proposals from eligible bidders for removal of unauthorised hoardings, unipoles or any type of unauthorised or illegal displays and advertisements from the city limits. Other cities are also planning crackdowns against unauthorised outdoor advertisements.
But Guwahati seems to be moving lahe lahe as illegal hoardings and unipoles are mushrooming across the city while the authorities are yet to take any significant action.
Is there no Mumbai or Pune-like hoarding mishap threat in Guwahati?
A city-based architect and member of Architect Association, Assam, Ranel Das talking to GPlus said, “All hoardings atop the buildings in Guwahati are 100 per cent risky,” adding that the Mumbai hoarding mishap happened because the hoarding was not well designed and also because of overloading.
“In Guwahati, the hoarding frames on top of the buildings are not connected with the frame or concrete construction of the building,” said Das adding that the advertising agencies somehow erect four posts and make a frame on which the advertisements are displayed. What is the load capacity of the hoarding frames, Das questioned saying that he wonders how the agencies get permission. He said that Guwahati falls in the highest seismic risk zone (Zone V) in India, making it prone to earthquakes - some severe earthquakes have occurred in this region in the past (notably in 1897 and 1950). The hoardings in Guwahati are risky during earthquakes and storms.
City-based social activist, Padmashree awardee and former legislator Ajoy Kumar Dutta talking to GPlus said, “The hoarding business in Guwahati revolves around corruption. Anyone and everyone are putting up hoardings and other advertising mediums everywhere in the city, like on top of buildings, near the drains, in the middle of the road, trees and so on.” He said like the city is getting dirty because people are spitting everywhere, similarly, it is also getting dirty because hoardings are coming up anywhere and everywhere. “I urge the authorities, especially the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), to make public a list showing how many hoardings or unipoles are authorised and how many are illegal,” said Dutta adding that it should also be informed how many advertising agencies were penalised because of violating advertising norms and for installing illegal hoardings and unipoles.
It needs to be mentioned that Bhavesh Bhinde, the prime accused for causing the death of 17 people after an illegal hoarding installed by his company beside a petrol pump in Mumbai collapsed on May 13, has a number of notices and penalties issued against him; more than 100 notices and penalties were issued against the Mumbai businessman. Bhinde’s company illegally installed a 14,400 sq ft hoarding in Ghatkopar that fell on the fateful day due to an unexpected bout of heavy rain and strong winds, causing injuries to as many as 74 people besides killing 17.
Are agencies being penalised in Guwahati? Are there illegal hoardings in Guwahati?
Most citizens of the city may have observed the sudden installation of many unipole hoardings in the city. A unipole hoarding is a kind of unique structure that stands on one pole with a display structure on the top. These are typically installed on the dividers or medians of the main roads to gain visibility and offer lucrative advertising spaces to brands and organizations. An RTI reply from GMC in the month of March 2024 revealed that there are only 40 authorised unipoles in Guwahati, but physically there are over 100 unipoles in the city.
Similarly, the number of authorised hoardings is far less than what is installed in the city.
So are the hoardings legal? Are they safe?
A source in GMC, the regulating body of outdoor advertising in the city, talking to GPlus on condition of anonymity said, “There are illegal hoardings and unipoles in Guwahati and from time to time the GMC also carries out drives against these.” Talking about safety, the source said that the authorised hoardings and unipoles are safe as they are installed after producing structural safety certificates to the GMC but the illegal ones may be unsafe. He said that the authorised ones are also renewed every year and accordingly safety certificate is also renewed. The source also said that in Guwahati there are not such huge hoardings like the one that fell in Mumbai.
GMC commissioner MN Dahal talking to GPlus said, “We have identified some illegal unipoles and the work has started to demolish them,” adding that there are also illegal hoardings and as and when the GMC identifies these the agencies are penalised and the hoardings are removed. He stressed on working on a new and improved outdoor advertising policy. He said that it is difficult to identify all the illegal hoardings in the city with the inadequate enforcement manpower that the GMC has. He said there should be a unique symbol looking at which anyone can know that the hoarding is legal or illegal. He said that the urban local body is working on a new policy which will completely resolve the issue.
The GMC may be working on a new policy, but the fact remains that there are illegal hoardings and unipoles in Guwahati which may spell disaster for its citizens.
