The city authorities turn a blind eye to the vandalism of spraying graffiti and pasting posters on public and private property in the city which is prohibited under the law.
The Dhaka South City Corporation, run by bureaucrats, never cared to enforce the law
which came into force on April 1, 2012.The Graffiti Writing and Poster Sticking Control Act, 2012 empowers city corporations and other local government bodies to regulate where and how posters could be pasted or graffiti could be written.
DSCC simply takes no action to prevent the incivility or vandalism of spraying often obnoxious graffiti or pasting not so decent posters on the walls of private property even in posh areas like Dhanmondi complained property owners.
Actions of this kind are ascribed to anger, envy or spontaneous, opportunistic behavior in gang culture, or disgruntlement with the society or at times target groups.
Graffiti writing on public or private property reflects gang culture sometimes considered less serious common crimes, but it can become quite serious and distressing when done extensively as an expression of intimidation.
Many people consider is as vandalism comparable to culture jamming, carried out illegally without permission from the property owners.
Property owners said that they found removing obnoxious graffiti as fruitless endeavours to be graffitied again.
The law empowers city corporations and other local government authorities to designate places where posters could be pasted or graffiti could be written.
The law also requires anyone doing these things to obtain prior permission for these activities.
Otherwise, it’s a penal offence to write graffiti or past posters.
When asked, DSCC chief revenue officer Tajul Islam Pradhan told New age that the city corporation could not nab the offenders as they usually paste posters or write graffiti at night.
That’s why, he said, the city corporation found it difficult to enforce the law.
He, however, did admit that ‘None came to us to seek permission for pasting posters at un-authorised places.’
Other DSCC officials admitted to New Age that there had been no move to enforce the law.
Many laws are enacted in this country with no or limited enforcement, one official said
‘This law is like that. Actually, no one knows about the law and no one came to us to seek permission for pasting posters or writing graffiti’, he said.
Angry with defacement of walls, property owners who spoke to New Age sought due enforcement of the law by the city corporation.
‘My apartment is my home. I pay to keep it clean not for others to scribble craps,’ said an angry Dhanmondi resident.
Daffodil University student Riyad Ahsan said that he disapproved the way the walls had been defaced by not so decent graffiti.
Shahin College student Dilshat Jahan said that the walls of so many decent houses had been defaced by graffiti and all kinds of posters of herbal treatment clinics, beauty parlours, cinema halls as well as of coaching centresand private tutors.
East Raaza Bazaar house owner Safiquddin Ahmed told New Age that the law did not permit a victim to lodge complaints against pasting posters on his ort her private property.
‘When others paste posters on the walls of my house, I can do nothing against them,’ he said.
The law defines a ‘wall’ broadly and vaguely as the interior and exterior walls of a residence, office, court, educational institution, business centre, industrial factory, shop or any foundation or boundary demarcation fence and tree, electrical pillar or post, road island, road divider, bridge, culvert, upper portion of the road and roof of a house.
And the law defines ‘poster’ as any publicity placard, picture, advertisement and any type of banner and billboard made of paper, cloth, or neon signs.
For any violation, the law allows a court to impose fines ranging from Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 and 15 days’ imprisonment for the failure to pay the fine.
The law makes liable each director, manager, secretary, partner, officer and employee of a company collectively, if there is any evidence that it has committed an offence
According to a stipulation in the law, electoral laws would take precedence over this new legislation during parliamentary or local government polls.
The law states that during other elections, however, graffiti writing or poster pasting would require prior permission from the concerned electoral authorities. But only at approved places the posters can be pasted and graffiti writing can take place by paying fixed fees – but within 15 days of such elections, all posters and graffiti must be removed.
-With New Age input
