?Hoarding affecting business?

THE PROPRIETOR of a commercial establishment, located on AB Road, has charged the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) with erecting ?illegal and dangerous hoardings? that have ?cut off air & sunlight and was adversely affecting business.?

THE PROPRIETOR of a commercial establishment, located on AB Road, has charged the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) with erecting ‘illegal and dangerous hoardings’ that have ‘cut off air & sunlight and was adversely affecting business.’

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The firm, M/s Dugar TVS, located at 6/A, Ratlam Kothi, Geeta Bhavan Square, accuses the Corporation of illegally increasing the size of a hoarding at 7/A from the sanctioned 10X30 feet to 60X30 feet.

“The vast hoarding abuts right in front of our establishment making it nearly invisible from the main road. Naturally, this has had adverse impact on sales. The hoarding also blocks sunlight for most part of the day and this is particularly difficult as the office doubles up as my residence,” Dugar TVS director Anil Dugar said.

The billboard, he adds, is also a traffic hazard as it completely hides from view the road leading to the right from Geeta Bhavan, forcing motorists to take blind turns that increase the possibility of an accident. Even more dangerously, the outdoor hoarding is placed next to and hides half of an 11,000 KVA transformer.

“Over the past two years, I have written dozens of times to the municipal commissioner warning of the dangers posed by the hoarding and requesting for its removal,” Dugar, brandishing a sheaf of letters received from the commissioner’s PA, said.

“But nothing happened. In fact, I was recently told that the file could not be traced,” he added ruefully. IMC market officer D S Chauhan said he could not comment on the matter until he had visited the site and seen the relevant documents. “If the hoarding size is found to be illegally increased it will definitely be removed,” he assured.