Staff Reporter :Some leaders and activities of Juba league (JL), a youth body of Bangladesh Awami League, have allegedly displayed their banners and festoons on most of the commercial advertisements in the city.To celebrate the (JL), 42nd founding anniversary on Tuesday, they hung up banners and festoons not only on commercial billboards but also utility poles, roadside spaces, road dividers, foot over bridges and roadside buildings. They have also built bamboo made arches at different points, especially all entrances to the capital, obstructing traffic. Two city corporation officials say that none took permission form them for this.”The ruling youth body has installed its banners on 75 percent of their billboards. The owners are counting loss for this. Nobody sought our permission to use our billboards”, said Shahidul Islam, treasurer of Billboard Owners Association (BOA). He added, this practice is not new. All parties do it during their regime.He said that it is they who would have to remove these banners on their billboards within 10-15 days since the installation.The BOA says there are around 2,500 billboards in the capital and they have to pay the city corporations Tk 150 per square feet, plus 15 percent VAT.Masum, leader of the youth body said that he hung up his banner on a billboard just opposite the IDB building paying an honorarium to the owner for 15 days. But he refused to mention the amount and name of the ownerAnother leader namely Matin told The New Nation that most of their billboards were hung up in the vacant places.When contacted, Ansar Ali Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation, said they would take measures to remove those illegal arches soon.About the grabbing of billboards in the capital, Jubo League President Omar Faruk said they did not ask anyone to carry out campaign in this way.”Jubo league men have done this on their own. Some of them have launched aggressive campaigns just to come to limelight; this is embarrassing,” he said.”We have already given instructions for removal of all those banners and such other publicity materials after November 16.”
