Date:17/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/17/stories/2008011758740400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Need for rooting out menace of billboards on trees

Meera Srinivasan

Corporation fined four agencies for illegal hoardings

— PHOTO: K.V.SRINIVASAN

WORST-HIT: Boards hung on tress and lamp-posts, a common sight. A scene on Venkatnarayana Road, in Chennai on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: Imagine nails being drilled through you to hang random wooden boards campaigning for institutes and services. If trees could speak, they would probably tell you what it feels like.

It is not uncommon to find trees with iron nails holding wooden and plastic boards that serve as advertisements for a host of products and services. The advertisers seem to consider trees’ barks free advertisement space that catches the attention of commuters and pedestrians.

Consequently, instead of a nice shade of green and a dark, rough, brown that lends it a beautiful contrast, one ends up seeing unwarranted whites, blues, reds and yellows. “These boards disfigure the whole tree,” says Shobha Menon, Trustee, ‘Nizhal,’ a voluntary organisation that works towards promoting concern for trees in the city.

“Experts in the field say that in the long run, the nails could harm the tree. Fungal infections may occur in the small gaps created because of the nailing, harming the tree over a period of time,” she says.

With the number of such illegal placements of advertisement rising in the city, the Chennai Corporation recently decided to take action against violators to curb such practices. The civic body fined four agencies last month with a penalty of Rs.1 lakh each for placing advertisement boards illegally.

“They use not just trees, but also put up boards on lamp posts,” Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni says. “Despite our issuing notices to those involved, some of them did not remove the boards. We had to fine them,” he adds. Removing the nails and the boards involved a lot of labour and cost quite a bit, he points out.

“We have been urging all the agencies that we have spotted to remove the boards from trees and lamp posts immediately. If they don’t, they will be liable for criminal action,” he points out.

While NGOs and the government can do their bit, Ms. Menon emphasises the need for citizens’ groups to participate actively in programmes for protection of trees. Residents should be more sensitive to changes in their environment and voice their concerns over harmful practices, she notes.