DC Swat directs operation against wall chalking

SWAT: Deputy Commissioner Swat Junaid Khan directed the local administration on Sunday to launch an extensive crackdown against wall chalking under the beautification plan in the entire district.

This he said in a meeting soon after visiting different areas across the district. He directed Assistant Commissioners along with Tehsil Municipal Administration of all the seven sub-divisions of Swat to launch an operation against wall chalking and take stern action against violators.

Under this initiative, Deputy Commissioner Swat directed all the local administrations for removal of wall chalking from all buildings in the entire district. Public is encouraged to identify all such wall chalking through pictures along with locations, Junaid Khan said during the meeting.

Junaid Khan said wall chalking was damaging the image of the scenic Swat District that attracts millions of local and foreign tourists. He also directed the district administration, Tehsil Municipal staff to launch a crackdown to erase wall chalking from every wall. He said that no negligence would be tolerated in this connection and strict action would be taken against violators.

It is worth mentioning here that wall chalking and graffiti, defined as wordings or images scribbled on a wall, actually originated from ancient Romans and Egyptians in the form of cave paintings and was used as a manner of self-expression. It has transformed ever since in different forms with the impulse to make one’s mark in the society.

The most appealing canvas for such mass messages seems to be public places such as bus stops, parks and buildings, boundary walls, sidewalks on main roads and flyovers. Wall chalking is a major problem for cities across the world, and Swat is no exception.

Not only are the walls of the provincial metropolis Peshawar defaced through wall chalking, public and private property in other cities and towns of Khyber Pakht-unkhwa too have been similarly vandalized. However, most of these supposedly artful messages are an eyesore.

Nearly all political and religious parties use public and private space to advertise rallies, praise their leaders or criticize opponents. Swat’s walls are also used to sell products and services, from questionable weight-loss therapies.

In addition, sectarian and militant groups also spread poison in society by plastering the city’s walls with hate-filled messages and sinister warnings. The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also banned wall-chalking in the past, albeit temporarily, through the imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC and now on most walls in main cities inscribed with the names of Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which is certainly a good initiative.

Despite all, these efforts have failed to prevent the spread of ugly graffiti, posters, notices etc. Perhaps a major reason for this is that political parties are amongst the worst offenders when it comes to ruining properties. “We have taken notice of the wall chalking and it was decided to launch a crackdown against those involved,” Junaid Khan when contacted said.