Erecting banners a perennial problem in Tamil Nadu

Erecting hoardings to welcome political leaders without necessary permission is legendary in Tamil Nadu, as all political parties are partners in the crime.

It took the death of a 23-year-old techie, Subhasri Ravi from Chennai, for political parties to wake up to the dangers that these illegal hoardings pose.

The death of Subhasri Ravi on last Thursday on the Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram main road, after an illegal hoarding fell on her, crushing her to death has triggered calls for political parties to crack down on their cadre and discipline them on the issue.

This is the second death due to fall of a banner in Tamil Nadu – Raghu, a techie, died in Coimbatore in 2018 when a banner fell on him. The techie had come to Coimbatore for his wedding.

Almost instantly, major political parties like the AIADMK and DMK asked their cadre not to erect banners to welcome them for party functions and private events. Actors of the film industry followed suit and asked their fans not to install banners of any kind in Tamil Nadu ahead of the release of their films or on any occasion.

The Madras High Court, which had earlier banned the erecting of banners, came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu government for its failure to act on the issue. Stung by the criticism and outrage, the civic authorities across the state have begun drives to remove illegal hoardings and banners that hinder traffic on main and arterial roads in town and cities.

However, activists who have been fighting against theerecting of banners say the assurance from political parties on the issue is mere eyewash as they are the ones who prevent officials from acting against those who responsible.

‘Traffic’ Ramasamy, who had moved the High Court several times on the issue, said that people should more pro-active in bringing incidents of erecting illegal banners to the attention of officers and follow-up to ensure that those responsible are punished.