Chennai Times

Some smart citizens have initiated a move to thank the CM for reclaiming the chennai skyline by sticking to his earlier pronouncements of removing the hoardings - www.thankyouchiefminister.com is a website set-up with some very nice photos of the city. It is amazing how much greenery is visible in chennai, I think it was Kushwanth Singh who many years back wrote that chennai had perhaps more greenery than Delhi. I am not sure about that, Delhi looks always very grey to me. But, suddenly you see the greenery in stella maris college and the horticulture department as you approach the gemini flyover from cath road, suddenly the temple tower in mylapore is visible as you step out of saravana bhavan in north mada street, the ugly houses and skeletons of iron that held those smiling faces and bouncing bodies do provide space for extra skyline in the chetpet bridge, for once you see the theosophical society greenery as you go on the adyar bridge...i am sure many parts of the city are re-clai...

On the way to office this morning saw two hoardings side by side that made strange reading: 'Infrastructure will change India' said the first one (HDFC Infrastructure Fund, I think) and ' to change exchange ' said the mobile shop ad. bang next to it!!! What are being exchanged in the name of infrastructure in India!!

Interesting findings from discussion on hoardings in another on-line group! This is what the consumer law says regarding obscene hoardings. 4. Posters and hoardings containing obscenity and vulgarity attracts Section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women( Prohibition) Act, 1986. Any depiction of the figure of a woman; her form or body or any part thereof in such way as to have the effect of being indecent, or derogatory to, or denigrating women, or is likely to corrupt the public morality amounts to Indecent Representation of Women. ( Complaints should be given directly to the Police. ) 5. Section 292 of IPC directly deals with any obscene poster, book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure etc. The material shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect...

I had wondered whether we will really see the hoardings go in this city in my earlier post Looks like the government is serious after all, this time around the hoardings are really vacating the sky-scape of the city and as I reached office this morning there were gaps in the hoarding line beginning to show through which it was possible to see some clouds and the sky. The newspaper headlines today are agog about the drive. Kudos Corporation and the Chennai police for taking up this act. Would they also make the hoarding men to re-plant all the trees that they have chopped off over a period of time for that 'vantage' point? or is it expecting too much? Whatever may be the case, take your camera bags and start shooting the green chennai for once as long as it lasts. Being the eternal skeptic, my auto driver friend and adviser warned me that probably this drive would not last beyond a month, ' எல்லாம் helmet மாதிரி சீக்கிரமா மறந்து பொய்தும் ' says he.

If the following news is true and without any flip-flop Chennai may be seen as never before in living memory!!! You will actually see the trees (whatever remains of them) that line up Cathedral Road, you may get to see the greenery of Theosophical Society as you cross the Adyar bridge, you will see the facade of many buildings in Mount Road for the first time, the government estate greenery will be a pleasant sight for all those passing by mount road from the island side, people may even get to see that there is an island ground in chennai, there will be surprise sights around Central station, many parts of Chennai will become safer for pedestrians again...and if the rule extends to political hoardings also, you will for once get to see the front side of Arivalayam at Mount Road too. But, will we see the bold side of the occupant of the Arivalayam on this issue? Many such earlier ventures have only resulted in review of orders after representations from advertisers and partial permiss...