The cultural richness of a city is gauged by its vibrancy and cleanliness. However, it seems unlikely that any city or town in the state can boast of its cultural splendour. This is because every city in the state is plagued by filth and chaos. Public spaces are littered with garbage. All roads are lined with hoardings and flex boards. Public pathways are obstructed by giant cutouts and advertisements. Even government offices are not spared from this. The office premises are filled with numerous service organization boards and advertisement hoardings. Irked by this, the High Court directed local authorities to remove unauthorized hoardings and advertisement boards. While authorities will remove some of the flex boards and hoardings from here and there following the directive, everything will return to "normal" within days.

The other day, the High Court once again took a stand against this evil practice that makes cities dirty. The court observed that the authorities completely failed to clear hoardings and boards from roads. The court's observation that local authorities' failure to act on this issue stems from their fear of politicians and unions is 100% correct. Everyone knows how advertisement boards and hoardings clutter city roads. Besides political parties, numerous organizations and festival committees are putting up flex boards to inform the locals of local events. Government departments also contribute to this. The High Court had appointed an Amicus Curiae to investigate and report on the proliferation of advertisement boards in major cities. The Amicus Curiae's report revealed widespread legal violations.

Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi cities are marred by rampant unauthorized boards and arches, that cross all limits. Local authorities have laws to impose fines on illegal board installations. Although the authorities impose fines once in a while, they tend to turn a blind eye to the issue in the majority of cases. Huge advertisement boards obstructing drivers' views are a common sight on almost every street in cities. Massive arches have become an indispensable requirement for organizational conferences and local celebrations. Two years have passed since the government requested more time from the High Court to hold discussions regarding the removal of flagpoles and other structures. However, no discussions or actions have taken place yet. The truth is that the government does not want to incur the wrath/displeasure of politicians and organizations in the name of this issue. What is needed is to punish those who disfigure the urban landscape by setting up unauthorized boards and hoardings and thereby distorting the city's atmosphere.

TN Seshan's tenure as Chief Election Commissioner is still remembered for his strict actions against defacing public spaces. During his time, people who littered walls and pathways with posters and boards were forced to clear everything and restore these areas to their original state within hours after voting ended. Seshan's only tool was the law prohibiting the defacement of public spaces, yet nobody dared to protest or resist. Our nation has laws that can strongly combat all violations. The problem lies in the fact that these laws are not being enforced. It is the responsibility of every city dweller to keep our city clean. Thiruvananthapuram was once renowned as one of the cleanest cities in India. Now, it's up to the citizens to assess the current state of the city.