Karnataka - Bangalore

BBMP pulls down 85 illegal hoardings

Bangalore: The East Zone of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has launched a drive against the menace of illegal advertisement boards.

With a slogan “The end of the year is the beginning of the clean-up operation,” close to 85 illegal advertisement posters and hoardings have been brought down since December 1.

The drive on Commercial Street will continue till Thursday evening.

“We are planning to do the same on Brigade Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road and other areas that come under my purview,” says S. Puttaswamy, Additional Commissioner (East) of BBMP.

The BBMP has collected fines amounting to Rs. 38,000 from defaulters on Commercial Street.

The drive has been launched following the formation of a demolition squad by the BBMP Commissioner in the wake of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s instruction to bring down illegal advertisement hoardings, banners and cut-outs in July.

“We did not have adequate staff for the purpose. But now we would like our zone to be free of illegal advertisement hoardings,” Mr. Puttaswamy says.

B.N. Jagadeesh, Assistant Revenue Officer (East), says that the operation on Commercial Street has been smooth without any inconvenience to the people.

The drive in East Zone, which has a large number of commercial establishments, began after a process of identification and verification of unauthorised advertisement hoardings.

“We are doing this to preserve the aesthetics of the city,” Mr. Jagadeesh says.

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