SPECIAL FEATURE
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
Photo: Prabir Das
Photo: Prabir Das
Have you heard of the saying 'rules are meant to be broken?' We, Bangladeshis, are ardent followers of this phrase. Laws are formed but there's rarely any implementation. We mumble for a bit, throw in a protest movement or two and then get tired of it all and go back to sleep. If we actually cared about our country, we'd do something about it. We would work towards upholding a clean, tidy image of our nation. But instead, we sit and watch in silence as laws are continuously flouted and our country persistently defiled.
How else would you explain the countless unsightly posters pasted on public property despite legislation that makes illegal postering punishable by law?
The Graffiti Writing and Poster Sticking Control Act, 2012 was passed by Bangladesh's parliament on April 20 last year. The act allows city corporations and local government authorities to designate places where posters can be pasted or graffiti can be scrawled. The act further stipulates that those seeking to use unauthorised spots to paste posters or write graffiti need to seek prior permission from the concerned authorities, comply with the conditions prescribed in the legislation and pay a particular sum as fee. Violation of the law will be considered a penal offence with the guilty party being charged a fine of up to Tk 15,000 and in default, a jail term of up to 15 days.
Posters and graffiti are a form of self-expression. True, that. But the walls of our capital city rarely get to experience the creative genius of aspiring artists or the ingenious creations of self-expressionists. We need to be content with the constant stream of commercial ads pasted in the form of posters on public walls. While this is just a visual obtrusion for most city dwellers, home owners, in particular, suffer the consequences of an inconsiderate social mindset. Most people are unwilling to do anything about an illegality that has no bearing on their lifestyle. And so others have to suffer quietly.
SM Hall has been declared a heritage site by the administration of Dhaka University and yet its entrance is defiled by unsightly commercial posters.
“I have had to repaint the exterior walls of my house thrice this year. I have personally taken down the posters but that didn't help. My wife and I saved for years before we could afford to buy a piece of land and build our house. This might be our shrine but for many, it's just a medium of promotion,” says Dhanmandi resident, Hafiz Mahmud.
Even letter boxes are not spared by poster fanatics.
Posters are put up on walls or poles not owned by the advertiser. As these places are public property, sponsors of poster advertising feel that they have the right to flood these spots with their mundane announcements. The wall soon becomes a collage of commercial posters, each competing with the other for space and public attention. Walls that should have been left in peace are thus turned into messy, cluttered, unbecoming eyesores.
Walls are not the only victims of poster-crazy advertisers. Poles, fences, hoardings – anything defined as public property is considered as the ideal place for illegal bill posting. Let alone private homes and public areas, over-zealous advertisers don't even spare heritage sites like Ahsan Manjil. The walls surrounding the exteriors of the historic building are covered with announcements of the next big sale, congratulatory notes and whatnots. Any tourist wanting to visit the much flaunted cultural heritage of our country would be appalled by the desecration that meets his/her eyes at the entrance.
Every citizen is responsible for putting an end to the illegal and offensive pasting of commercial posters.
Amanullah Mohammad Asaduzzaman was a student activist during the pre-independence era. His death at the hands of Pakistani police during a protest movement catalysed the liberation movement of then East Pakistan. Ironically, the landmark renamed from Ayub Gate to Asad Gate to honour Shaheed Asad has now been transformed into a monument of poster advertisements. Be it vote appeals or the launch of a new detergent, Asad Gate has become the go-to place for poster fanatics.
“My grandfather was a freedom fighter. He always says that Shaheed Asad inspired him to join the Liberation War movement. It is sad to see the memorial of a national hero being desecrated by his own countrymen,” says college student Shubel Ali.
With national elections around the corner, politicians are going out of their way to portray their political party as the sole 'saviour of the people'. The message needs to be loud and clear. And so party members ensure that their words are all you hear, the images that they conjure are all you can see. Not content with filling ears with tales of their “achievements” and the other party's failures, party members cover public walls with declarations, promises, congratulations, blames, disapprovals. Electioneering posters are considered necessary evils around the world. But only in Bangladesh do you get to see heritage sites and national monuments defiled by the very “beholders” of law.
Photo: Prabir Das
According to a special provision of the Graffiti Writing and Poster Sticking Control Act, 2012, electoral laws will take precedence over the act during parliamentary or local government polls. However, individuals or parties can only paste posters on selected public walls with prior approval of electoral authorities and only after they have paid the stipulated fee. Moreover, a clause within the act states that the posters need to be removed within 15 days of the concerned election. But as we all can clearly see, political posters boast the central spot of public spots even months after voting takes place.
When contacted, Administrator of the Dhaka South City Corporation, Mohammad Nazmul Islam said that the corporation will soon release an official statement regarding the removal of illegal posters and graffiti. He has declined to further comment on the issue.
The government might be content passing laws without taking active measures regarding their implementation. But we, as citizens, can't remain callous. This country is ours to love and take pride in. We need to make a conscious effort to uphold the inherent beauty of our nation instead of sullying it for commercial wants.
Illegal postering detract from the beauty of our country and creates a bad image for foreign visitors. Photo: Prabir Das
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