Plan to float billboards in city lakes rolled back

HMDA’s ambitious plan to have billboards floating on the city lakes is more or less shelved. Only the official announcement remains to be made.

HMDA had sought permission eight mon-ths ago from the GHMC to install floating billboards in the Hussainsagar and the Saroornagar lake. The civic body has not yet not responded.

GHMC commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy said that the civic body would discuss parking and advertisement policies in two weeks and the floating billboards issue would be debated in the meeting. He said the GHMC does not have a policy for advertisements on water.

According to sources, the decision in the meeting is a mere formality. The government, especially minister K.T. Rama Rao, is said to be against having advertisements all over the place. “The difference is clearly visible. He had appealed not to put up hoardings, posters or banners to wish him on his birthday. The government wants to minimise the number of advertisement boards so that the beauty of the city is not lost. When the effort is to cut down on outdoor advertising, how can billboards on water be encouraged? Permission is almost unlikely,” an official said.

Billboards had been installed in Hussainsagar for some time before they were removed. HMDA had intended to extend the project to other lakes.