'Wild' billboards to be taken down

JAKARTA (JP): The City Revenue Agency plans to take down all unlicensed advertisement billboards and banners in and around the capital beginning on Monday, an official has said.

"A total of 408 unlicensed (street) advertisements will be taken down in our operation beginning Sept. 14," the agency's head, Wahab Rachmatsjah, said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He urged owners of the "wild" advertisement billboards and banners to immediately obtain the required licenses.

The operation against the unlicensed street advertisements is meant to discipline the advertisers as well as to help beautify Jakarta, Wahab said.

Besides the large number of giant billboards on top of buildings and along the city's main thoroughfares, Jakarta also has a huge number of cloth banners hanging from lamp posts, pedestrian bridges and trees.

The agency took down 473 street advertisements and issued 647 warnings between April and August this year, Wahab said.

During the five-month operation, 210 advertisers hastily met the city's requirements by paying some Rp 744 million to the agency, he added. (bsr)