PWRD Issues Notices to Remove Illegal Hoardings in Guwahati

After months of turning a blind eye to a rapidly growing civic menace, the Public Works (Roads) Department (PWRD) has finally initiated a long-overdue crackdown on the illegal unipole hoardings defacing Guwahati’s streets and endangering lives.

The action comes only after sustained media pressure and public outrage, particularly following a series of investigative reports by Pratidin Time, which exposed how these unauthorised structures had mushroomed across the city.

Despite repeated warnings, PWRD remained a silent spectator as massive steel hoardings — many mounted with blinding LED lights — were installed without permits on central medians, footpaths, and even dangerously close to intersections. These weren’t just aesthetic violations — they were ticking time bombs.

The turning point came on May 10, when a thunderstorm tore through Guwahati, snapping several of these unipole hoardings clean off their bases. Metal wreckage was scattered across the roads, traffic came to a standstill, and hundreds of commuters were left stranded in a storm.

Cornered by public criticism, the PWRD has now started issuing formal notices for the removal of these structures. Signed by the Assistant Executive Engineer of the Dispur Territorial Road Sub-Division-2, the notices have been affixed directly on several unipole hoardings across the city. The department has clearly acknowledged their illegality and has warned that violators will face legal action and monetary penalties.

As per the National Road Safety guidelines, unipole hoardings — especially those with LED displays — are strictly prohibited on urban roads with high vehicular density. Their potential to distract drivers and cause accidents is well-established. Yet, until now, Guwahati remained cluttered with thousands of such hoardings, installed without clearance and with seemingly no fear of consequences.

Which begs the real question:

How did these hoardings come up in the first place? Who gave the nod — tacitly or otherwise? And who pocketed the proceeds from this shadow economy built on public risk?

This is not mere negligence. It reeks of an organised racket — possibly a nexus between contractors, middlemen, and insiders within the system. The so-called 'commission game' — whispered about in corridors of power — now demands formal investigation.

While the PWRD’s action is a welcome, if overdue, step, it is by no means enough. It cannot stop at dismantling steel structures — it must dismantle the system of collusion and compromise that allowed them to stand in the first place.

Until then, every hoarding taken down is just surface damage. The real clean-up must go deeper.