BENGALURU: After years of apathy and a high court rap, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (
BBMP) workers pulled down close to 19,000 illegal flex banners and posters from across the city between 11am on Wednesday and 6pm Thursday.
A high court division bench had, on Wednesday, ordered for immediate removal of all
illegal flex boards and banners. BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad had directed his officers to suspend all their work and enhance the city’s visual appeal by removing banners and posters from public places, especially roads and
traffic junctions.
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For the city’s civic agency, the easy part of removing flex banners is over — at least by their reckoning — and the hard part of ensuring fresh ones don’t spring up begins. It’s an ongoing battle and officials will have to summon determination, grit and hard work, attributes which are alien to BBMP, to win this battle. Still, it’s a start and BBMP must realise that prevention is better than incurring the wrath of the court. It must take strong action against offenders and ensure the city’s landscape isn’t marred by a handful of unscrupulous people.
In a circular issued later in the day, Prasad had said that if the flex ban was violated, everyone, including advertisers, publishers, printers and the person whose photo appears on such material, would be liable for criminal prosecution.
Have designated areas for banners, says Haris Congress MLA from Shantinagar NA Haris, a popular face on flex boards and banners, especially in his constituency, argued that with the advent of social media, a lot of publicity activity might have shifted online, but displaying of banners and posters is still needed from time to time.
"While I support this move, there perhaps can be a few designated areas where such posters can be put up. While I will tell my supporters not to put up banners, I’m not sure the extent to which they’d listen to me," he added.
MLA welcomes move
First-time MLA Sowmya Reddy, who conducted a flex-removal drive soon after she won the election, said she welcomed the high court directive. "I have always been anti-flex and have previously given strict orders to supporters and workers not to put up such banners. However, if they do choose to put up a
banner with my face on it, then it’s beyond my control. Every political party should enforce this ban, and everyone must take the initiative to end it," the Jayanagar MLA said.
‘Political will lacking’
Srinivas Alavilli of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), however, called the drive a waste of the civic body’s time and said political parties, which are largely responsible for this menace, should be ashamed of themselves.
"Political will is needed to ensure such drives are a success. But it’s lacking in situations like these. If parties of all stripes tell their workers not to use flexes, then BBMP won’t have to waste its time and energy removing them and can instead focus on other civic issues. I hope the drive extends beyond the high court directive," he said.
Miscreants attack workers; BBMP threatens protest
“We have removed over 18,500 banners and the drive is more or less. But there was one incident in Mahadevapura, where our men were assaulted,” said Prasad.
“The incident took place at at 12:45pm, when some workers, including myself, were taking down banners in the HAL area, which comes under Mahadevapura zone. We were attacked by a group of 50-odd people. We have filed a police complaint,” said an assistant revenue officer, who claimed that he too was injured.
BBMP Officers and Employees Welfare Association president A Amruthraj said that he and other association members would protest before the BBMP office on Friday if the culprits are not nabbed. An FIR has been registered at Ramamurthy Nagar police station against several persons, with videos submitted as evidence to identify them.
“We are acting on high court orders and need protection to work. If no action is taken, we’ll have to stage a protest on Friday,” said Amruthraj.
