SAD councillors, local leaders and even education institutes in Bathinda have taken the ‘hoarding route’ to please newly-appointed Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. They make sure that even when Badals are not in the city, they remain in front of the eyes of the residents, doesn’t matter if it means defacement of the city. The administration is acting like a mute spectator to this defacement.

Interestingly, some of the messages these hoardings carry were too nebulous for the innocent residents. A billboard featuring Sukhbir and CM among others put up by a traders’ association near Hanuman Chowk on the occasion of Republic Day read, “Apni Azaadi Ko Hargiz Mita Sakte Nahin, Sar Kata Sakte Hain Lekin Sar Jhuka Sakte Nahin”. Residents are surprised over the type of ‘Azaadi’ which is being talked about in the hoarding, which stood firm even days after Republic Day.

The hoardings have even eclipsed the statue of martyr Nand Singh at the local Fauji Chowk.

Outdoor Media Agency, Adcraft, which rents out the unipoles of the Municipal Corporation to the advertisers and pays a rent to the MC, is crying hoarse. “Out of 25 unipoles, we have five that are not occupied. In the form of quarterly installments, we pay a heavy rent to the Municipal Corporation. While our unipoles are lying unoccupied, their surroundings have been flooded with political hoardings,” rues Jaideep Singh, one of the partners in Adcraft.