Pune: Craze for selfie points among politicians ahead of municipal polls

PUNE: Cashing in on the selfie craze, politicians cutting across party lines have set up selfie points across the city to derive political mileage ahead of the civic polls.
These points have mushroomed across civic areas. Same type of selfie points, put up by corporators, political leaders and electoral aspirants, dot various areas of the city. The real intention behind setting up these selfie points is to earn free publicity before the upcoming civic elections.

But citizens are not impressed.“Why should the names of politicians be prominently displayed across selfie points? How many people would want to promote politicians on their social media accounts unnecessarily?” said Aditya Kulkarni, a resident at Bibwewadi. “Names of politicians displayed across selfie points put off people who wish to take selfies at these points,” said Sourabh Lale, a Kothrud resident.
Civic officials pointed out that these points have been set up without informing the electricity department of the Pune Municipal Corporation. “Permissions are given by the ward offices. These points have not been installed with our prior permission,” said Shriniwas Kandul, head of the PMC’s electrical department.
Aactivists said politicians who have set up selfie points are using public properties for their own publicity.
“Earlier, garbage bins, benches, bags were used for free publicity. Now, politicos are trying to cash in on the new trend. It is a wastage of public money,” said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizen group.
Some political parties have raised their voice against such selfie points and the free publicity of elected members.
The Aam Aadmi party (AAP) has given a letter to the PMC for removal of the names of the elected members from the selfie points. “Many elected members have given their names to public amenities. It is illegal. The civic body will have to spend money to hide these names when the code of conduct comes into vogue. The PMC should remove these names and the expenses should be borne by the elected members,” said the statement issued by the party.
“If any street furniture is placed without proper permission it will be termed illegal and will be removed. It will include all such boards public-funded and private-funded. Such selfie points should not lead to defacement of the city. It also leads to wastage of electricity. The ward offices should conduct scrutiny and take action against such installations,” said Kunal Khemnar, additional commissioner, PMC. Selfie points have come into prominence owing to the popularity of social media, with youngsters sharing photos on networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The first such selfie point mentioning ‘I love Pune’ was installed at Pune station in the city. Now, selfie points, such as ‘I love Shindewadi’ or ‘I love Khadakwasla’ are seen in various areas of the city.
Citizens said that so many selfie points across the city defeat the very purpose of setting up these points. “One or two such points in the city are more than enough,” said Vishal Choudhari, a resident of Warje