A political culture that blurs Puducherry’s landscape

While violation of rules governing the display of hoardings, banners, cut-outs and arches by political parties and supporters of leaders is a nuisance that residents of Puducherry have been forced to live with for a long time, there are certain occasions when such violations become disruptive to normal life resulting in public outcry. 

Perhaps, one such occasion that crops up annually is the scale of spectacle leading up to the birthday celebrations of Chief Minister and AINRC founder N. Rangasamy, that falls on August 4, in the Union Territory. This year too was no exception. As with the previous years, Puducherry’s streets and thoroughfares were flooded with huge banners, cut-outs, arches, and posters hailing Mr. Rangasamy’s leadership as he celebrated his 77th birthday on Tuesday. 

Virtually, the entire town and even suburban areas were overwhelmed by larger-than-life banners of the Chief Minister portraying him in different avatars, including as film characters played by Tamil and Telugu superstars. There were also hoardings showcasing him as sportspersons holding football world cup and IPL trophies.

The supporters of the Chief Minister, including AINRC Ministers and legislators, competed with each other to occupy the already-cramped thoroughfares and traffic junctions to put up large-size hoardings as a mark of loyalty to their leader.

One of the party legislators, Vayyapuri Manikandan, even sat on a dharna near the Muthialpet police station when law enforcers objected to the legislator’s decision to erect an arch right in front of Bharathidasan Government Women’s College on the busy Mahatma Gandhi Road, leading to the town.

Though not related to the Chief Minister’s birthday fete, there was another incident in the town related to the display of banners last weekend. The supporters of Independent legislator, Azhagu alias Azhaganantham, assaulted a reporter of a Tamil Daily while he was covering a scuffle the MLA’s supporters had with PWD officials after they removed a hoarding put up by the supporters on Vazhudhavur Road coinciding with the inauguration of the MLA’s office by Mr. Rangasamy.

“Barring a few leaders and political parties, most of them follow the banner culture which is a blur on our pretty landscape. The problem during Mr. Rangasamy’s birthday celebrations is that the violations cross all limits. You have to only see the arch put up near the women’s college. The arch had occupied half the road width. The structure was not removed until Thursday evening, which is two days after the birthday celebrations got over. It does not reflect well on the system too,” said a college teacher. 

After repeated public outcry every year against such blatant rule violations, the teacher said the Chief Minister should have issued a strong advisory to his supporters not to indulge in such show of loyalty or allowed the officers to proceed with criminal action against those putting up illegal structures in public places during the days leading to his birthday.

T. Ramesh, State Vice President of Naam Tamilar Katchi and a litigant on display of banners, said despite the orders given by the High Court in 2021 and 2022 and subsequent directions issued by the Puducherry Chief Judge, the culture of putting up banners continued in Puducherry.

“It is a gross violation of the orders of the court. Also, those putting up the banners are insensitive to the public concerns over the display of banners as there had been fatal accidents in the country involving illegal hoardings. Even in Puducherry, we had had accidents due to hoardings. The putting up of banners coinciding with the birthday celebrations of the Chief Minister was rampant. Many of these structures were erected on busy public roads posing serious threat to public safety,” he said.

Authorities should register cases against all those who erected hoardings in public places. The continued inaction on the part of the district administration, police and municipal authorities would only encourage more people to violate rules and regulations, he said.