The KMC had already stopped renewing contracts for hoarding boards. Over three dozen entrepreneurs and members of Shiva Sena Nepal staged protest against the drive at the KMC´s main gate. They have demanded immediate halt of the ongoing hoarding removing campaign. [break]
"We are ready to follow metropolis rules and make the hoardings systematic," Mohan Shrestha, an entrepreneur, said, adding, "But the officials are not listening to our problems." Shrestha claims that the KMC decision will hit hundreds of people dependent on hoarding business.
Chandika Basnet, another entrepreneur, said that their protest will continue until metropolis allows them to place the hoardings.
Officials at the metropolis said that the campaign is needed for the beauty of the city and public safety.
"The policy was passed by the municipal council and will be implemented strictly," said Laxman Aryal, executive officer of KMC. He said that the protest of the entrepreneurs cannot affect the ongoing drive. "Hoarding boards placed in unsystematic manner on the rooftop of houses and alongside the roads have tarnished the beauty of the city and pose a great risk to public safety," he added.
He said that the metropolis does not care about the revenue coming from the hoarding boards.
"Public safety is important than the revenue," he added. Over a dozen commuters have been seriously injured when haphazardly placed billboards fell on them. The office used to collect over Rs 2 million from hoarding rents.
The traffic police have been urging the metropolis to remove hoarding, mainly the ones that are distracting, placed at several junctions. The KMC in the past had removed hoardings of the companies and businesses enterprises, which have not contacted the metropolis office for long and have not renewed their licenses.
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