The illegal hoardings installed by the state government continue to dot the busy airport road even four days after the event was organised. The hoardings were put up to promote chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s “CM di Yogshala” event held on June 20 in Jalandhar.
The hoardings, however, can still be seen near Gurudwara Shaheedan at Sohana Chowk and the sports stadium in Sector 78.
Sources within the municipal corporation (MC) have revealed that the government had taken permission for 20 authorised billboards or uni-poles, while hundreds of other banners were put up illegally on electricity poles alongside the airport road.
Notably, the MC had planned to allocate an annual contract worth ₹33 crore through the auctioning of outdoor advertisements for the city. However, three months have passed since the House meeting, and no interested party has come forward to take the contract.
Municipal commissioner Navjot Kaur claimed that prior permission was obtained for putting up the hoardings on uni-poles. But the commissioner said she was not aware of any illegally installed hoardings.
Speaking of the issue, deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi of the Congress, criticised the Aam Aadmi Party for “littering” the airport road with illegal hoardings. Approval was given to the public relations department for displaying advertisements only on 20 authorised billboards. “However, a major portion of the posters has been illegally put up on electricity and telephone poles across the city,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking of the issue, deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi of the Congress, criticised the Aam Aadmi Party for “littering” the airport road with illegal hoardings. Approval was given to the public relations department for displaying advertisements only on 20 authorised billboards. “However, a major portion of the posters has been illegally put up on electricity and telephone poles across the city,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}In responde, AAP’s in-charge Govinder Mittal said party leader Sunny Ahluwalia, who is also the chairperson of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, is looking into the issue.
On being contacted, Ahluwalia mentioned that the hoardings also contain a helpline number, allowing residents to call and request a free yoga trainer in their locality. The hoardings were installed to spread the message as widely as possible.