BENGALURU: Although the high court has categorically prohibited advertising in public spaces, 869 hoarding frames are yet to be removed.
BBMP officials confirmed that in 2018-19 the city had 3,606 hoardings, and 1,800 of them were removed in the first phase. Of the remaining 1,806 structures, 937 were removed by the owners after a public notice was issued during the second phase.
Of the 869 hoardings that still remain, 253 come under stay orders issued by various courts. The authorities have generated notices regarding the other 616 structures and served them in connection with 68. Notices are yet to be issued for the rest, officials said.
According to records shared by BBMP, east zone has the maximum ad hoarding frames with 380, while
Yelahanka
has the least (4). Records also state Mahadevapura, Dasarahalli and
Rajarajeshwari Nagar
zones don’t have any such structures.
However, citizens argue that the ban on hoardings to beautify the city does not make much sense when the frames are still scattered across Bengaluru.
Tara Krishnaswamy
, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru, said, “It is a classic case of not following the spirit of the law. When the hoardings were asked to be removed, it was obvious they meant with the shells. It is so strange that the ads have been removed but the shells have been left behind looking ugly.”
Odette Katrak
of Beautiful Bengaluru said it is confusing to still see hoardings in some parts despite the ban announcement. “We also see empty hoarding frames across the city. It gives rise to the assumption that hoarding removal was temporary and the ban would be lifted. Clarity from the authorities would help. Ironically, frames with shreds of old flexes hanging from them don’t improve the aesthetics, which was the aim of banning hoardings in the first place.”
Priya Chetty-Rajagopal from Heritage Beku said, “We have taken a sustained and strong stance that aesthetics and heritage, along with spatial contiguity, of the city must be maintained. All this contributes to that. Enforcement should be carried out in a stringent manner across all departments.”