The ugly business of posters
As election season is on full swing we the ordinary citizens have to bear with the eyesores that are the thousands of posters plastered on every wall, bridge, letter box, lamppost etc. They are of prospective candidates in the coming elections. Needless to say that the indiscriminate postering all over the city (and other towns in the country) have significantly contributed to the ugliness of the city already scarred by indiscriminate construction, lack of greenery and careless garbage disposal. We actually have a law, the Graffiti Writing and Poster Sticker Control Act 2012 that prohibits graffiti and posters on walls beyond designated places and violators can be punished with a fine of Tk 5,000 to Tk 50,000 or imprisonment from 15 to 30 days. Obviously this law has no teeth when it comes to preventing plastering of political posters.
Most of the posters are of prospective candidates from the ruling party and they can be seen from Malibagh to Bangla Motor. A picture of the pillars of the Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover says it all. But what is most disappointing is that the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation is saying that his office cannot do anything because it will make political leaders react. Are we to believe that the mayor, who is in charge of enforcing the rules of postering in the city, has no power to do so? Another official of the city corporation has expressed the sheer helplessness of the city corporation when it comes to getting political party members to abide by this law.
The late mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, had cancelled the licences of six renowned coaching centres for violating the instruction of removing its illegal banners, posters and festoons from the roads. Such bold moves are necessary and the city corporations and political parties must work together to make sure that the law is honoured. The walls and pillars must be free of this menace.
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