Saturday May 23, 2009

Taman Desa residents get together to remove illegal ads

By BAVANI M

THERE is something different about Taman Danau Desa in Taman Desa, Jalan Klang Lama. It’s clean! Those banners, flyers, and bunting prevalent in most neighbourhoods in the Klang Valley are actually missing here.

This is all thanks to the diligent and persistent residents of the neighbourhood, in particular members of the Danau Villa Residents Association (DVRA).

Getting rid of it: Kumar and DVRA committee member Sharon Koh working together to get rid of the illegal ads.

Fed up with the unsightly posters and banners that adorned practically every nook and cranny of their township, the DVRA members decided to take action.

“It was terrible at first, the banners were everywhere and we decided to organise a clean-up last October,’’ DVRA president Kumar Suppiah said.

Within a week, members armed with pliers and scissors worked hard to pull down illegal advertising bunting, banners, posters and flyers.

“However, they were back a week later. That’s when we got our security guards and gardeners to help out,’’ Kumar said.

And not only that, members of DVRA who are jogging, walking their dogs or taking a drive in the area would make it a point to stop and pull down the unsightly materials.

“Once the illegal advertisers saw that we meant business, they stopped,’’ Kumar said.

“I guess it was expensive to keep printing the stuff anyway,’’ he added.

DVRA has since approached other residents association and business communities in the neighbourhood to get them to carry out similar measures to combat the illegal advertising menace in the city.

“Everyone should carry out their social responsibility and help to curb this perennial city issue. It’s not fair to expect the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to do everything,’’ Kumar said

He added that it was a two-way process and with everyone’s co-operation the presence of these unsightly banners and bunting could be minimised.