A mobile court of Chittagong City Corporation removed 13 illegal billboards and fined three advertising firms Tk10,000 in the city’s Dewanhat and Jamal Khan areas yesterday.
Executive Magistrate Najia Shirin, who led the drive, told the Dhaka Tribune that seven big billboards and six small mini-Ad poles were removed from Jamal Khan and Dewanhat areas as they were installed violating the CCC rules and regulations.
The drive started from Dewanhat area under the jurisdiction of Double Mooring police station around 10:30am and continued till 5:30pm, added the executive magistrate.
The mobile court also fined advertising firms SA Ad Tk4,000, Desh Ad Tk5,000, and Ad Valley Tk1,000 for the illegal advertisement.
At Jamal Khan area several billboard owners protested the eviction drive claiming that the billboards were legal.
Shahed Akbar, former joint secretary of Chittagong city unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have approval from CCC’s GM and standing committee and the proper documents, but the mobile court pulled my billboard down without any reason.”
CCC sources said the corporation has approved 6,170 billboards to 219 advertising firms till June 2013. Of them 3,964 are approved to be set up at the CCC’s own lands while the rest are approved for Chittagong Port and Bangladesh Railway’s land.
Afterwards the CCC did not approve any new billboard application, said the sources.
