THERE used to be a wonderful view of the Nile, all the way from Maadi, south of Cairo, to Helwan. But it has now disappeared behind huge hoardings, carrying incoherent advertisements, which are a real eyesore, complain the local residents. Unleashing their “Hands off the Nile” campaign, the residents also complain that, in their hysterical bid to line the Maadi Corniche with as many billboards as possible, advertising agencies, in collaboration with local municipalities, have felled or aggressively trimmed the rare species of tree for which Maadi is famous. Traffic experts warn that the metal and wooden beams erected across the Maadi Corniche to support the billboards are in danger of being hit by heavily laden lorries. While much mud is being thrown at the local municipal officials for this visual pollution, the press refuses to exonerate the National Organisation for Urban Harmony (NOUH). NOUH's chief, Samir Gharib, is said to have shut himself up in his office, dithering about what should be done. Gharib denies this. He told the press that he repeatedly appealed to former Governor of Helwan, Hazem el- Quwedi, to do something, but he didn't. The NOUH chief added he'd then asked the new Governor, Qadri Abu Hussein, to remove these hideous constructions. “We have lent our voice to the residents of Maadi. We gave the former Governor and his successor a stack of evidence in the form of documents and photographs,” Gharib said, sadly adding that it's all been to no avail. Two years ago, the head of NOUH was given the green light for his campaign from the Prime Minister, but, he complained, he's powerless without the help of the Helwan Governor and the head of the local municipality. The Premier's signal came in the form of Law 119/2008, which made NOUH responsible for stipulating the standards and rules for urban harmony nationwide. Despite this huge responsibility, Gharib is not allowed to arm his engineers with sledgehammers and axes to destroy these shocking advertising constructions. The crestfallen architect of urban harmony admitted that these billboards were not just an eyesore, but also a threat to the safety of motorists and passersby. At night they are illuminated with blazing lights that dazzle drivers. The new Governor of Helwan, Abu Hussein, has advised Gharib to be patient, because of the contracts signed by the advertising agencies with his predecessor. “We have a legal responsibility to honour our contractual obligations to them,” he stressed. Eng. Mohamed Abdel-Fattah, First Under secretary of the Ministry of Transport for Research and Major Projects, also says that these brightly lit advertisements are a distraction for motorists. “If they lose their concentration for a couple of seconds, it can be fatal,” he warns.
