BENGALURU: Citizens in parts of Bengaluru have noticed advertisement panels erected on medians and footpaths, which hinders the movement of pedestrians. Though Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has stated that no individual can advertise without permission from the advertising department, people still put up advertisements and bring them down after a few hours to avoid punishment.
Many question if advertising is necessary on a median where plants can be planted instead, and blame BBMP for not inspecting roads. Raicy Mathews, a member of Voice of Sarjapura said, “Driving at night beside these advertising panels becomes dangerous for pedestrian s. There are no street lights on one part of the Sarjapur Road, which extends up to Muthanallur cross, and the lights from these ad boards do not help. Instead, the driver is blinded by the light and cannot see pedestrians crossing the road. Why is BBMP not taking any action?”
Residents say most places, especially the areas located in the outskirts with heavy vehicular movement, do not have skywalks nearby, so they have to walk for 5km to cross the road. Instead, they prefer to cross these roads by jumping over the median and advertising panels are a hindrance. “Once, I almost fell because of the advertisement panel while standing on the median waiting to cross the road,” said Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Nelamangala. Another citizen, Abdul Aleem, who is also the president of Kanakpura Road Apartments Movement of Change, spotted a few advertisements on footpaths in Kanakpura Main Road and JP Nagar 6th phase. “They completely block pedestrian movement, making them walk on the road and risking their lives,” said Aleem.
Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said, “This is totally unacceptable. No one is allowed to erect any advertisement panel without permission.”A senior official from the advertising department said they will send notices to the advertisement owners. “We will send a notice to remove these panels. We will give them 24-48 hours and if they do not obey, we will file an FIR,” he said.