Daily Times

KARACHI: Colour full roadside wall advertising culture has been on the rise in Karachi following the ban on billboards and roadside hoarding by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in around 2016.

Though this mode of advertising by chalking the walls of residential and commercial buildings with various consumers’ products has not been legalized by any mean or allowed from any government regulator or authority in city, but mushroom growth is being witnessed since the last two months.

Rahat , the President and Fareed Ahmed, Secretary of Outdoor Advertising Association, Sindh were of the view that this mode of advertising has been done within the legal frame of work.

According to them, the outdoor advertisers have been running this business under the Cantonment Board Act 1924 and City Act 1933 till Sindh Local Government Act 2013.

They claimed a draft resolution for running the business on this effect has already been approval by District Municipal Corporation (DMC) South. It is expected that the same approved proposal would be submitted before LGD for final approval.

The outdoor advertisers have also submitted draft in question to DMC East, Central, Malir, Korangi and West.

The same draft would also be submitted to District Council Karachi for approval, they maintained.

They informed that outdoor advertisers’ body has also presented their draft to Waseem Akhtar, Mayor Karachi, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, opposition leader in Sindh Assembly and Senator Saeed Ghani for their respective suggestions.

Senator and opposition leader have also been requested to play their respective roles for approval of DMC approved business from Sindh Assembly to turn the trade into legal frame.

Cantonment Board Clifton and Karachi Cantonment Board have also been informed in this regard and requested to pray SCP to allow running this trade in a formal way.

Outdoor advertising industry of Karachi is feeding around 100,000 families, they informed. Outdoor advertisers have also requested for their intervention in the case CMA-no-209-K of 2014 for hearing at SCP Karachi Registry.

A draft of the advertisement bye-laws other than public property has also been submitted as directed by the SCP.

We humbly request SCP that our members, who are worst affected by the interim orders passed by SCP are interveners in this civil petition and our advocates have not been heard earlier.

We request to put up the matter urgently on regular hearing basis as we are waiting the date of next hearing since March 14, 2017.

Hundreds of people are engaged in this profession and about 100,000 skilled and unskilled people are associated with this trade.

“We are contributing around Rs 12 billion in direct and indirect taxes to the exchequer’, they claimed.

Published in Daily Times, June 22nd, 2017.