SC orders removal of all billboards across Karachi

KARACHI: The Supreme Court has ordered the removal of all kinds of billboards from all roads in Karachi.

Chief Justice Gulzar heard the case related to the billboard in the Supreme Court Karachi Registry and SSP South also appeared in the court.

The court inquired about the whereabouts of the victim who petitioned in the court as one of his relatives got injured to the billboard falling at him. 

In a conversation with Commissioner Karachi, the judge remarked that the billboards are placed everywhere in the city. “People are taking unfair advantage of public property,” he maintained.

Advocate General Sindh told the court that a case has been registered over the incidents of billboards causing accidents in the city.

“The entire city is full of billboards,” said the judge, adding that if these fall down then they can cause severe damage. “There are so many billboards that airflow has been restricted. This is a violation of the law,” said the CJP.

The SSP South told the court that a case has been registered against two suspects for installing faulty billboards.

The commissioner Karachi then told the court that people have erected billboards on private property and that hundreds of billboards were removed over the last four years.

Read more: CJP takes notice of billboard falling in Karachi

The CJP remarked that the Sindh government and the local bodies are ‘enemies of the city’ and there does not seem to be any governance in Karachi.

He continued that the billboards issue has been in violation of building codes and the entire city presents a dismal picture.

Last week, the complainant had lodged a FIR against District Municipal Corporation South Advertising Director Wazir Ali for allowing billboards to be placed in Karachi’s roads despite the Supreme Court’s orders.

He blamed the accused of putting up billboards despite the Supreme Court’s orders to remove them from all public properties.  The SC had ordered officials in Karachi to remove billboards from public property because they had become a safety hazard.