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Installation of Aipan signage boards affecting shopkeepers’ business

Monday, 04 December  2023  | PNS | DEHRADUN

The government has installed uniform signage boards with Aipan designs in various shops across the city to give an aesthetic look to marketplaces but the shopkeepers have claimed that it is severely affecting their business. It has been observed that many shopkeepers have installed additional signage or hoarding over the signage board installed by the government. Many have opined that the government is spending lakhs on installing these uniform signage boards to give the marketpalces of Dehradun a makeover but the shopkeepers are ruining it by installing their own signage boards. However, the shopkeepers have claimed that aesthetics will mean nothing to them if they cannot make their business stand out among customers. Shopkeeper Aman Verma in Paltan Bazaar said that they had spent about Rs 1.2 lakh for their signage board to make their shop stand out among others, especially at night. “The departmental officials have installed this board outside our store as part of their plan. What about the money we spent and the money we expected to earn from our investment? We cannot bear losses in the name of making the marketplaces aesthetic,” said Verma. Another shopkeeper Lal Chandra claimed that the officials are just installing the signage boards without considering the points and suggestions of shopkeepers just for the sake of finishing the installation work. “They have removed our shades installed over the shops to prevent rainwater entering the shops during rain. There are several such factors they did not consider in the name of this signage board installation work,” said Chandra. The president of Doon Valley Mahanagar Udyog Vyapar Mandal (DVMUVM), Pankaj Masson also said that many shopkeepers have approached him against the installation of the signage boards and they will soon talk to authorities concerned regarding the same. “Most of these boards across the city have been installed by the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and Public Works Department (PWD) after Dehradun Smart City Limited installed a few in the Paltan Bazaar area. Some shopkeepers have installed signage boards worth lakhs of rupees to make their business stand out among others to attract more customers and they want these installed at their shops than those installed by the government. We will soon talk to the authorities concerned regarding these complaints. We will appeal to them to come up with an idea that can work for both parties,” said Masson. The Dehradun district magistrate Sonika said on the matter that the authorities will soon ask the shopkeepers to not install additional sign boards.  The administration will consider complaints and suggestions of shopkeepers regarding the matter, she said.

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