Clean-up drive: Municipal officers given 48 hours to clean the city

Objectionable banners, posters, graffiti removed from various parts of the provincial capital.

PESHAWAR:

The administration of the provincial capital carried out a clean-up operation in various parts of the city on Saturday to remove objects marring its beauty.

Peshawar Division Commissioner Sahibzada Muhammad Anees had earlier ordered the authorities to remove encroachments from pavements along with indecorous graffiti, posters and banners from the city walls.

The city administration had also already imposed Section 144 during Ramazan wherein exhibition of arms, tinted car windows, wall chalking and displaying objectionable posters was banned in the city.



However, despite the ban, graffiti, crude posters of Pashto films, election campaign banners along with various advertisements continued to adorn the city’s wall, electricity poles, trees, bridges and even historical monuments, distorting their beauty and historical identity.

Peshawar Municipal Administration Officer Rasheed Ahmad on Saturday ordered municipal workers to remove the graffiti and posters and to dispose of the garbage within 48 hours.

“The city’s defacing would not be tolerated. Strong action will be taken against those involved regardless of which political party they belong to,” said Ahmad, adding the perpetrators would be fined Rs5,000.



The administrator also expressed concern over mounds of garbage dotting GT Road and around Aasia Gate and Banamarhi, directing municipal inspectors to clean the areas immediately.

The clean-up operation was carried out near Gulbahar flyover, Khyber Bazaar, Kohat Road, Hashtnagri, Faqirabad, Firdous Chowk and Haji camp bus terminal among other areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2013.