KMC issues advisory to Puja committees against hoardings blocking roads

With a few days left for Durga Puja, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has released an advisory for all puja committees warning them against installing hoardings that block roads.

KMC had been discussing steps to act against the random installation of hoardings in the city that block roads during the Puja. To this effect, the civic body has learnt to have come out with an advisory highlighting the dos and don’ts. Part of it includes that no hoarding or banners measuring more than 20ft from the ground are to be installed.

Further, no installations can be made on road dividers and neither can bus stands be blocked using such hoardings. Further, the Puja committees will need to inform the civic body of the entire stretch where they would install such hoardings, including the starting and the finishing points and must ensure their names are written on the hoardings.

It was learnt that the KMC has received complaints from citizens that often such hoardings on their buildings prevent them from opening windows or for that matter the pavements become inaccessible due to these.

The advisory is learnt to have been sent to the Puja committees through the Forum for Durgotsav.

Debashish Kumar, Member-Mayor-in-Council (MMiC), Parks and Squares, and Advertisement department, said that puja committees need to take responsibility for their hoardings. It is often observed that they forget about these once the Puja is over.

These measures are also being taken to prevent visual pollution. To prevent this, it was advised hoardings cannot be installed at a height where the skyline gets blocked, sources said.

KMC is also mulling strategies on how to deal with the massive plastic waste that gets generated during pujas due to such banners and hoardings.

It was learnt that the civic body will also hold a meeting to plan how to dispose of the solid wastes during and after Puja.