| PHA to remove billboards near monuments |
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| Written by Daily Times | |
| Tuesday, 26 June 2007 | |
 * New billboard policy to be enforced by June 30, 2008LAHORE: The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) is enforcing new policy for the removal of billboards and hoardings nearing the heritage sites and monuments by June 30, 2008, Daily Times learnt from the officials concerned. It was also learnt that the department that had been regulating roadside advertising in the city had issued a new Publicity Boards Policy in April 2007 stating that all billboards in the city would be leased after being auctioned. PHA director general Raja Abbass said under the new policy a committee consisting of the PHA director general, PHA marketing director, a divisional superintendent of traffic police, a Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) deputy director, a Environment Protection Department deputy director, architect Nayyar Ali Dada and a representative of advertisers, Zahid Murtaza, would identify new sites to be leased out through open auctions. Abbas said none of the 190 advertisers registered with the PHA had come forward to get leases under the new policy. He said the authority did not terminate the current lease contracts at once because the step would defame the government and drag the PHA to courts. He said this was why the authority had given the current leaseholders a grace period of up to June 30, 2008.Abbas said the policy of granting lease through open auctions was likely to cause a decrease in the PHA’s revenue. He added the policy had failed in Karachi. He said in Karachi, advertisers had started playing dirty by offering the highest bids and once they got the contract, they back out of their offers. Outdoor advertising has eclipsed the beauty of historical buildings in Lahore due to the growing number of billboards. A PHA official said the authority could not take a quick action for the removal of these billboards alongside the historical buildings, because an annual contract was signed with the companies. He said that was the reason that had stopped the authority from taking any action. Lahore has about 50 ancient buildings including the Lahore Fort, the Badshahi Masjid, the Shalamar Gardens, Lahore Museum and Jahangir’s Tomb. These billboards have ruined beauty of these historical monuments by covering the view of these buildings. Many people who visited these places felt displeasure on the bad view of these historical buildings. Gurmeat Singh, a Sikh visitor from India, told Daily Times the billboards alongside the Badshahi Masjid were not only hindering the view of the historic mosque, but had also been marring beauty of the Sikh temple adjacent to the mosque. He said, “The authorities concerned should play their role because such things can affect tourism.” He said he had seen a mammoth growth in the number of billboards in Lahore. Afzal Khan, Lahore Fort curator, said, “It is a hard pill to swallow that these buildings were losing their attraction.” He said one of the major reasons was the billboard installed near these buildings. He said the Federal government should look into the matter, as most of the 42 registered historical buildings in Lahore were under the control of the federal government. |
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