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| ATTITUDE PROBLEM: The billboard that caused a furore. Picture by Amit Datta |
Teachers and guardians of two secondary schools in Kestopur staged a demonstration on Thursday outside the premises, on VIP Road, against a billboard mounted on the schools? common playground.
?We have informed the district magistrate and other officials about the offending advertisement on one of the six billboards, owned by the public works department (PWD), on the playground,? said Minati Adhikari, headmistress of Prafullakanan Deshapriya Balika Vidyamandir.
?We are aghast that the billboard did not catch their (administrative officials?) attention till we pointed it out,? complained Goutam Prasad Chatterjee, assistant headmaster of Prafullakanan Deshapriya Vidyamandir.
Prior to the protest on Thursday, the authorities of the schools, located side by side, and the guardians held separate meetings on the liquor advertisement.
The schools had acquired the playground from the PWD on the condition that the latter would decide on the advertisements on the billboards and also keep the rent from them.
The billboard in question displays a liquor bottle, a car, a bonfire and a few young men and women dancing. ?It is obscene. My daughter, in Class X, told me that her classmates are excited over the lifestyle depicted in the advertisement. I keep telling her that it is unreal? but she says I have an attitude problem,? said Arati Saha, a guardian.
?The schools have written to us, saying that the billboard offends their sensibilities. We will handle the issue the best way we can,? sub-divisional officer, Barasat, Swarup Pal said.
?Had the officials been serious, they would have responded to our written petition submitted a week ago. They are pretending to have taken note after today?s demonstration,? Chatterjee said.
Tapas Chatterjee, chairman of the Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality, said that he will initiate a drive against such billboards if the PWD chooses to remain silent.
?The advertisement does not cause any visual pollution, but we will take corrective measures if the situation demands,? said Khemraj Sharma, an executive of the advertisement agency.