Ho Chi Mihn City - The situation of posting advertisements and classified ads on electricity poles broke out. District 5 mobilized many forces to remove them but it was ineffective, so they chose the option of wrapping plastic grass.
The information was said by Mr. Le Tan Tai, Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of District 5 (implementing unit), at the socio-economic press conference in Ho Chi Minh City, on the afternoon of September 21.
According to Mr. Tai, in the past, the unit had to mobilize people to scrape off advertisements and classified ads on electricity poles every week but it was ineffective. Sometimes the staff shaves it off in the morning, then in the afternoon it's glued back on. Even the person using glue sticks tightly to the electric pole, causing erasing to take a lot of effort and time.
Due to the role of the Fatherland Front in District 5, it cannot impose fines and sanctions, the unit used the method of wrapping plastic grass with a rough surface to prevent advertising stickers instead of mobilizing people to scrape it off. In the first phase of implementation in 2019, the plastic grass was somewhat sketchy and the material was easily damaged, then it was changed to a better type.
In addition, some people intentionally stick it on top of the grass, wrap tape around it or remove the grass to create gaps, making the image look a bit messy. "With the spirit of inquiry, we receive suggestions and changes before there are radical solutions from the government to suppress advertising and classified ads," Mr. Tai said.
To date, the wards of District 5 have covered more than 490 electric poles with grass carpet and nearly 1,300 lighting poles. The total cost of installing plastic grass is nearly 300 million VND from socialized sources. It is expected that by 2024, all electric poles and lights in the district will be covered with plastic grass. However, this creates many mixed opinions about safety because plastic grass can easily catch fire when an electrical short circuit occurs.
Mr. Tai said that before doing the work, the unit reported to the Cho Lon lighting and electricity company to conduct a safety survey. Currently, the locality has not recorded any incidents of fire or electrical leakage related to wrapping plastic grass on electric poles. In the near future, the district will review and come up with general standards such as what type of grass to use and how to wrap it to ensure aesthetics and safety.
According to Mr. Bui Van Kien, Deputy General Director of the National Power Transmission Corporation, plastic grass wrapped around concrete pillars does not affect the structure or electrical safety. The lamp post is designed to grow larger from top to bottom to help rainwater flow quickly and the post dries quickly, but when covered with plastic grass, the water flows more slowly.
Mr. Kien said that in the past, the unit had tested non-stick paint on electrical cabinets, but the cost was very high and it was ineffective. "Prevention of posting classified ads depends on administrative or criminal handling, but other ways to prevent posting classified ads on electricity and lighting poles are not feasible," Mr. Kien said.
From a professional perspective, Associate Professor-Dr. Nguyen Hung, an electrical engineering expert, said that the light pole is 12-15 m high, has electric wires running inside, ensuring insulation from the pole body, so the plastic grass layer stagnates water. does not cause electricity. In addition, the lighting pole is designed to automatically shut off when there is an electric leak.
However, the locality needs to anticipate objective situations such as people dumping trash around the base, throwing burning cigarette butts that spread to the grass, affecting the structure of the pillar. In addition, with concrete electric poles connecting many low voltage lines, telecommunications cables can easily short circuit, causing sparks to fall and cause fires in plastic grass.
From there, Mr. Hung proposed that the management unit instead of using plastic grass could use sandpaper - a material with a rough surface and the same color as the electric pole, ensuring aesthetics, anti-advertising and safety.
Ads and classified ads have appeared in Ho Chi Minh City for many years, the government has introduced many measures, but cannot remove them all. In May, the City Police called on people to stop this situation. Many districts have sent forces to erase advertisements and classified ads on electric poles and building walls. Ho Chi Minh City police arrested many people who posted ads for black credit and forced them to be erased at the place of violation.