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Our Reporter
Dimapur, Sep. 10 (EMN): Despite creating awareness to avoid defacing public places with campaign clutter, bill stickers continue to paste advertisements, pamphlets and banners on the walls of private homes, business establishments, utility poles, government buildings and any open space.
While poster campaigns taken up by civil society organisations also contribute towards defacing public spaces, Nagaland is bracing for a spike in such visuals with the state assembly elections just a few months away.
Shop owners at Tajen Ao road and around Circular road in Dimapur lamented that the pasting of pamphlets and posters on the walls of their shops and shutters by various groups leave behind a shabby surface, saying no amount of painting or removing the posters can restore the original paint.
‘Most people paste them (posters) without taking permission and even if they notify, permission is never sought but only informed,’ said a shop owner.
“The poster campaign and advertisements create visual pollution and (causes) damage to property. Even if we whitewash the walls, the effort to keep it (away) from defacing is not easy as another group will come and do the same. It will continue to be the same unless a strict enforcement is introduced,” said another.
It may be recalled that the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) along with Dimapur-based media houses, political parties and civil society organizations organised a drive to remove the posters and pamphlets pasted around the city following the state assembly election in 2018.
The drive was initiated to give a facelift to the commercial hub of the state and discourage poster campaigns as it not only defaces the city but also robs off its charm. The volunteers took several hours to clean the walls, shutters and road dividers in the targeted area.
Open spaces including boundary walls of private buildings, public property, side walls and peers of flyovers, lane dividers, electric pole, shops, gates, etc. were found poster-ridden during the drive. Caption: Volunteers are seen removing pamphlets and posters in Dimapur town just days after the state assembly election was held in 2018.