1 week Ago By Alim Shaikh
Pune: PCMC has told hoarding owners to pull down advertisement boards from iron structures between April 15 and June 15 to prevent any accident that might occur due to high wind speed caused by pre-monsoon activity or unseasonal rain. A senior official of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)'s sky sign department said that the decision was taken to rule out the possibility of hoarding collapse. Civic officials said it had been observed that most incidents related to hoarding collapse in the state were reported during these two months.
Five people lost their lives in the hoarding collapse in Kiwale on April 17, 2023. The hoarding collapse in Mumbai's Ghatkopar on May 13, 2024 claimed the lives of 17 people. The hoarding owners were told to pull down banners for two months as a precautionary measure to avert any accident.
Municipal officials on Thursday held a meeting with owners of hoarding structures and members of outdoor advertising association. They were advised to carry out routine maintenance and works related to structural stability of the iron structures during these two months, a PCMC official said. Pradip Thengal, deputy municipal commissioner and head of PCMC's sky sign department, said, "Such an initiative is being implemented for the first time with an aim to avoid any untoward incident in the city due to hoarding collapse.
" He said that hoarding owners have also agreed to cooperate with the municipal corporation. There are over 1,300 registered hoardings across Pimpri Chinchwad. Earlier this year, the civic body initiated a survey of hoardings across the city using ‘AI-driven hoarding detection and surveillance' system.
A member of Pune's outdoor advertising association said, "We have taken measures like making a hole in advertisement boards installed on the iron structures to ensure that wind passes through them, but considering the hoarding collapse incidents in the past and an appeal by PCMC, we have agreed to pull down advertisements." He further said that advertisements on big structures like those installed along the highways and on terrace of buildings, which may obstruct wind and are prone to collapse, would be removed as a precautionary measure. The municipal corporation had decided in Dec last year not to give permissions for erecting temporary hoarding structures in the city.
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