Himalayan News Services

Kathmandu, February 3:

A campaign is on to rid select spots of the city of hoarding boards, which have been tarnishing the beauty of the city. Thirty hoarding boards have been removed from the Durbar Marg area since the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) began the campaign on Tuesday.

Chief of the Implementation department of the KMC, Dhanapati Sapkota, said the campaign to remove such boards from the area is on.

“We will remove about 100 boards in a week. This will help restore the beauty of the city.”

Hoarding boards and posters, which are erected in every crossroad, on the terraces of new buildings, bus stops, parks, overhead bridges, temples and tourist spots, prevent people from relishing the beauty of the city, which is home to beautiful palaces, pagodas, stupas and temples. KMC officials say there are over 1,200 hoarding boards in the city.

Though the Local Self-Governance Act states that public notices, posters and hoarding boards can be pasted or erected in the urban area only after a formal approval from the metropolitan office, a few sponsors have sought approvals from the KMC for erecting the boards. Moreover, not all of the parties who have taken permission to display boards pay revenue to the KMC.

Though the KMC collects around Rs 3 million a year from the sponsors of these boards, KMC officials say the annual revenue should be as much as Rs 30 million.

The KMC has declared the areas around the Royal Palace, Durbar Marg, Pashupatinath, Baudha, Swayambhu, Basantapur, Ranipokhari, Maitidevi, Bhatbhateni, Nil Saraswati, Kalmochan, Kalanki, Dharahara, Shobha Bhagawati, Akash Bhairav, Chabahil Ganesh, Kamaladhi Ganesh, Nakshal Bhagwati, Bhadrakali, Teku Pachali as hoarding board-free zones.

On the other hand, it issued two public notices — on December 28 and January 1 — urging the owners of the boards to demolish them within 35 days. These notices have created confusion among the advertisers regarding the official deadline to demolish the boards.