Exteriors of Kolkata’s heritage buildings will be freed from hoarding, posters: City Mayor

Kolkata, Aug 1 (IANS) As a drive aimed at both beautification and restoration of cultural heritage, the exteriors of the heritage building in Kolkata will be freed of all the advertisement hoardings, banners, and festoons at the earliest, city Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday.

According to him, two reputed engineering institutes in the state, namely Jadavpur University in Kolkata and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district, have been entrusted with the task of identifying the heritage buildings in the city.

“As soon as the task of identifying the heritage buildings would be over, the exteriors of those heritage buildings would be freed of the advertisement hoardings, banners and festoons,” the Mayor said at his weekly citizens’ interactive programme christened “Talk to Mayor” on Friday.

He also informed that the two engineering institutes would identify the heritage structures in the city based on their historical and archaeological relevance.

“It had come to our notice that in case of certain heritage structures in the city, their entire exteriors have been covered with such advertisement hoardings, banners, and festoons. This cannot be tolerated and we, on behalf of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, have decided to take action against such menaces,” said Hakim, also the West Bengal municipal affairs and urban development minister.

He also said that the front side of the heritage structures in the city will also be illuminated. “The hawkers will not be allowed to sit in front of such structures,” Hakim added.

Already last week, the KMC authorities identified several intersections within the city that will be declared as no-hoarding zones.

The initiative had been taken as part of KMC’s city beautification drive before the forthcoming Durga Puja festival, when lakhs of people from outside, including foreign nationals, visit the city to a feel the Bengali’s biggest religious-cum-social festival.

–IANS

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