50 fined for defacing walls with ads in Cantt

Meerut: Hoardings and posters have virtually swamped the city. While district administration is yet to take steps, Meerut Cantonment Board (MCB) has issued challans to 50 people for "ruining" the sanctity of plush green Cantt area by pasting advertisements of their commercial activities on the walls. The MCB officials said they would remove such advertisements from walls and other public properties to make the Cantt area spic and span. FIRs will also be lodged against those who do not comply with MCB's drive.

Cantt executive engineer Anuj Singh said, "People are running coaching centres, private clinics and similar activities after have defaced walls and other public properties by pasting posters and writing on walls. Such advertisements not only blemish the walls but also amount to evasion of advertisement tax. Now, chief executive officer Rajeev Shrivastava has been instructed to start a drive against such people and issue challan to those who do not remove posters even after being issued a warning. Today, we started our drive from 0-mile, which is also a spot of historic as well as geographical importance. The stone had been laid during the British Raj there has been covered completely with posters."

Meanwhile, on Monday, a team of MCB personnel arrived at zero-mile and removed posters as well as rubbed out the wall paintings. "We are not only erasing the posters and wall paintings but making videos of the site so that strict action can be taken if anyone pastes a poster or defaces public property with wall painting again. Today, we issued challans to 50 people who have defaced the public property and fined them with Rs 5,000 each. If they are found to be involved in such activities again, an FIR will be lodged against them for sure," CEE Singh said.

The MCB officials have also started a wall painting drive simultaneously in a bid to beautify the roadside walls. The walls are being painted with inspirational slogans as well as subjects of historical and regional importance. Officials say it will be giving not only a glorious shape to the Cantt area but also curb those to deface walls.