Chennai: Flex banners and cut-outs are still hanging around despite them being banned. Be it birthdays or death anniversaries, political meetings or protests, there will be one huge flex banner, at least, on the road and Madipakkam, Chennai, is no exception to this.
On any given day, one can come across a number of flex banners and cut-outs in Madipakkam, even at Medavakkam Main Road, claim residents.
But the prevailing culture of erecting flex banners irks commuters as these boards tend to block the roads, thereby causing hindrance to commuters as the banners hide the other part of the road.
Karishma Hari, who takes the Madipakkam Koot Road everyday to work, says, “These banners are also the reasons behind the accidents that takes place here everyday. Drivers are not able to look at the other part of the road and anticipate while driving.”
Sourav Anil, a resident of Brindhavan Nagar, said, “There are more than dozens of marriage halls in Madipakkam and during the celebrations, people raise these banners, but most of them remain uncleared. They get damaged and the hang in the middle of the road and nobody cares about it, unless something unfortunate happens.”
A source, close to a political party told, “Decades ago, the practice of erecting banners was started with the sole purpose of spreading information as there were few means to spread a message, unlike now. Politicians at the top-level need no advertisement as they’re well-known faces. All of these started when party members in the bottom hierarchy started erecting banners with their pictures and slogans along with the party leader’s picture, to gain popularity.”
“But nowadays, the practice has become a method of advertising. Earlier, banners can be found only in political meetings. And now, this culture has become a part of celebrations like wedding ceremonies and birthdays,” the source added.