After the Awami League’s scheme of highlighting the current government’s successes on city billboards’ drew severe criticism, the government has apparently taken up a new technique of promoting itself on billboards.
Advertisements, promoting the achievements of several ministries under the Awami League government are now being brandished on billboards at key points of the city using, what officials said, public funds.
The Dhaka Tribune found dozens of these billboards put up by the communication ministry and ministry of LGRD and co-operatives at different places in the city.
Besides these, ministry of education, ministry of industries, foreign ministry, health ministry, planning ministry, science and technology ministry, information and communication technology ministry, jute and textiles and the ministry of defence were all found exhibiting the successesof the current governmenttenure.
Meanwhile, power, energy and mineral resources ministry and ministry of post and telecommunication have displayed their achievements on banners in front of their different offices in and outside the city.
Dhaka WASA, and the Export Promotion Bureau have also put up a good number of billboards. Billboard owners, however, gave mixed reactions over the advertisements.
Some of them claimed the government has spent a large amount of public funds just to demonstrate its successes while there have also been complaints of political musclemen in different area grabbing billboards worth millions.
Hazi Md Rashed, general secretary of Bangladesh Outdoor Advertising Establishment Owners Association told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have no problem with what the government is doing. But the problem is that it inspired local ruling party leaders, who try to grab billboards by force.”
He said some of the owners had even received death threats when they resisted grabbing of their billboards.
“We think the situation might get worse before the general elections,” Rashed said.
“It is a decision not taken by the party but the government to publicise its successes through different media,” Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told the Dhaka Tribune.
“As we are accountable to the people we have chosen the billboard as a media to showcase our achievements,” he said.
Earlier on first week of August ruling party has occupied hundreds of billboards in the city to a campaigning technique that is unprecedented in Bangladesh.
The same trend was observed in Chittagong and divisional headquarters of Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal.
Education minister claimed that his ministry has rented only 15 billboards in the city, all of them from private business groups. However, he would not disclose the expenses.
The billboards were concentrated around some key spots in the capital like the Ruposhi Bangla intersection, and commercially important areas like Dilkusha, BijoySharani, Banani, Asad Gate, both sides of the newly-built Mayor Mohammad Hanif flyover.
Environment and Forests Minister Hasan Mahmud, also the publicity secretary of the ruling party said: “This time it was a government decision and our party is not involved in this matter. Ministries have their own funds to publicise their successes.”
He also said: “If anyone hangs a billboard at an important place in the capital, it will take the attention of millions every day thus we have opted for billboards.”
Back in August the residents of Dhaka found that nearly all billboards in the city were literally covered with banners showcasing the successes of the present government claimed to have been achieved during its tenure.
