Cloth banners surge ahead in plastic-free polls

Thrissur: Cloth banners and paper posters which had lost out to modern publicity materials have bounced back as the favourite media of communication for political parties in Thrissur district in the coming local body elections.

Campaign materials made of paper and cloth are in high demand now with the State Election Commission imposing a ban on the use of plastic-made banners, posters and flyers. The commission has made it clear that the local body elections should be plastic-free.

Campaign managers of political parties were racking their brains to find alternative campaign materials. The District Collector, who supervises the electoral arrangements in the district, has asked the parties to say ‘no' to vinyl and flex boards for electioneering. Plastic was banned during the campaign for the last Lok Sabha elections also.

Firms making banners and posters, about a dozen in Thrissur city, have started working overtime to meet the huge demand.

Raju Edathala, who runs an adverting firm, says it is a tough task to produce sufficient number of cloth banners ahead of the civic body elections. “Making cloth banners consumes a lot of time,” says Mr. Raju. A skilled banner-maker needs at least an hour to make a standard-size cloth banner. The Thrissur Corporation alone has 55 divisions with a minimum of four candidates expected in each. “Most of the candidates this time will have to satisfy with paper posters,'' he says.

Moreover, the dearth of professional banner writers is another worry for the parties.Anil, an artist with an advertising firm in the city, says that most of the professional cloth banner makers had switched over to other businesses as venyl and flex boards almost replaced paper and cloth posters in recent times. The cost-effectiveness and clarity of photographs made flex boards popular. A cloth banner costs almost double that of a flex board. Refuting the charge that flex boards will create environmental pollution, Mr. Raju says that flex boards are reusable and biodegradable.

Meanwhile, flex board makers have urged the State Election Commission to review the decision to ban the material for polls. Instead of banning flex boards, the commission should impose restrictions on the number of flex boards being used by each candidate, they contend.Sand-mining puts bridges in peril

Source:The Hindu,23-9-2010