Now, face upto six-month jail for defacing Bengaluru

BENGALURU: After repeated warnings to stop putting up banners and flexes in public places, BBMP special commissioner (Revenue) Deepak R L, on Tuesday, warned all those defacing the city, saying that strict action will be taken against the publishers and printers.

He told media persons the printers and publishers will have to pay the cost of removing the banners and flexes, and pay a penalty of Rs 1,000 and face six months imprisonment. Deepak said: “I have instructed the chief engineers and joint commissioners of all zones to remove the banners. So citizens must be vigilant and stop putting up banners for birthdays, anniversaries and deaths. Violators would have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 and will have to undergo six months imprisonment under the Prevention of Disfigurement Act. We also identify those publishers who are illegally printing the flexes and banners to be put up in the city.”

BBMP staff have removed over 17,000 banners across the city in the last week and the officials have used GPS maps and cameras to identify the illegal hoardings, he added. “The public has also submitted 107 objections over the ward delimitation and we are discussing with the authorities to consider them. Meanwhile, we are also listing out the SOP to recover tax from the malls who have defaulted,” Deepak added.