NPDCL SE V Gangadhar appeals people to remove the posters and banners voluntarily and warned of stern criminal action if they not mend their ways
KARIMNAGAR, SEPTEMBER 13, 2024: The misuse of electric poles for pasting posters, banners and hoisting ads is rampant in Karimnagar town as the TGSNPDCL condones the illegal practice mostly by private commercial entities.
It is alleged that the NPDCL officials lets off private parties without taking stringent action, thus encouraging the practice. Often, the former issues a warning rather than taking formal action that would be a deterrent, the sources said.
Notices have been pasted on most of the poles located in the busy areas where people movement will be high. This poses practical difficulties for field staff and increases their work burden. Many field staff falls down while climbing poles in the rainy season as they slip on the glue used for affixing notices or small ads. Besides, erection of banners vinyl posters are also posing threat to field staff as well as other road users as they are falling down suddenly when the motorists riding the vehicles on the roads, the sources said.
During emergencies, the field staff have to do the additional work of removing banners and posters before climbing the poles.
TGSNPDCL Karimnagar SE (operations) Vadlakonda Gangadhar said: “It is illegal to paste advertisement notices and fix banners on poles. Without strong action, private parties are using the electric poles like their properties”. He said that the pasting of posters had become difficult to trace out numbers on the poles.
Appealing the people and advertisers and others not to paste posters and tie banners on electric poles, he said: “We have planned to serve notice to the private companies who pasted their advertisement on poles violating the norms. We will monitor such activity. If they do not remove it within seven days, we will file police complaints for furthermore steps through concerned Assistant Engineers”, he stated.
