Down South, rocks fare no better

Many rocks in the Jubilee Hills have been exploited for commercial purposes. Even the rocks inside KBR Park have not been left out by film industrialists. Near Nagarjuna Circle, Rishi Constructions has used a rock to announce that the land is under development.

Leave the city, catch a train from Secunderabad to Moula Ali, Bolarum or go on a pilgrimage to Srisailam. Rocks wear the garish masks of hoardings.

The case of Rohtang Pass, following a report published by The Indian Express, was taken up by the Supreme Court and notices were issued to the culprits, including Pepsi and Coke. In Hyderabad, no one seems to bother. A senior MCH official says there is no law to prevent advertisements on rocks, a punishable act anywhere else in the world.

Leave aside the legal prohibition, painting of rock surfaces has an effect on the ecosystem because there are innumerable organisms on its surfaces.

Dr P.K. Govil of the National Geophysical Research Institute points out that when the rock is metamorphosed into soil, the paint can contaminate ground water and plants sprouting on the rocks. It can also seep into the layers of the rock, killing bacteria and microorganisms there. The bacteria systems give a lot of information to researchers, he adds.

Hyderabad is perhaps the only place in the country to have a Society to Save Rocks. Society secretary Frauke Quader says rocks are being disfigured here, not just by advertisements, but by rock-cutting also. She points out a law prohibiting disfigurement of rocks should be introduced by the Government.

Says Capt J. Rama Rao of Forum for a Better Hyderabad, ‘‘Painted advertisements on rocks divert drivers’ attention.’’

Calls to Sri Visakha Timber Saw Mills on the numbers on the rocks drew a blank, while officials of Janmabhoomi Houses, which has painted advertisements on rocks in Jubilee Hills, said they knew nothing about them.