Are banners making a coming back in Tamil Nadu?

Chennai: Seems like the demise of 23-year-old Subashree, who died after a banner erected on the road fell on her, made no impact on the government and its officials.

The Madras High Court approved Tamil Nadu government’s request to place banners from Chennai airport to Mahabalipuram during the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, to be held on 11th October.

This has shocked many netizens, who took to social media to rant about this burning issue. Subashree's death is not the first such case, it may be recalled that there have been several reported and unreported accidents involving large and small banners along the road and median.

Hearing a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government seeking the court’s permission to erect banners, a division bench of Justice M Sathyanaranan and Justice N Seshasayee advised the State government to ensure that the banners do not cause inconvenience to the public in any way.

When the petition was taken, the government advocate Vijay Narayanan said that 16 locations have been identified to place the banners.

The advocate further said the ban on banners are applicable only for political parties and not for the government.

It may be noted that Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami visited Mamallapuram and inspected the arrangements being made for the summit. Palaniswami also held discussions with the officials about the steps being taken for the event.

The tourist destination is now under tight vigil as it is said that more than 500 police personnel have been deployed as a precaution. CCTV cameras have been installed in strategic locations for round-the-clock surveillance. Every vehicle that enters and leaves the area is subjected to police checking. Hotels and resorts have been advised to rent rooms only to those who have proper documents.

The residents too have been asked not to entertain any outsiders. Modi and Xi Jinping are expected to visit three monuments – Shore temple, Arjuna’s penance and 5 Rathas during their two-day visit.