BENGALURU: The menace of illegal advertisement hoardings, banners, flexes and billboards continues to raise serious safety concerns among residents and commuters in the city. The issue came to the spotlight again after a large hoarding collapsed on Sarjapur Road and an unauthorised flex fell on the road in Nagarbhavi, injuring four commuters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, over 40 flexes wishing birthday to Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa came up on Kumara Krupa Road on Sunday.
Flexes, cutouts and banners continue to appear frequently in many parts of the city during festivals, political events, private celebrations and other occasions.
Despite a directive by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also Bengaluru development minister, to take strict action against those putting up such illegal flexes and banners, the BBMP has not acted.
Urban expert Kathyayini Chamaraj said flexes and hoardings cause visual pollution, are a threat to pedestrian and commuter safety, and disrupt traffic. “Large hoardings and flexes, often placed at prime locations like flyovers, bridges and foot-over-bridges to grab attention can lead to accidents and cause traffic congestion in the city,” she said. Many illegal hoardings lack structural stability certificates and are erected using poor-quality materials, making them vulnerable to collapse during heavy winds, she added.
On BBMP action, she said, “I wonder why these flexes continue to remain. You hardly see anyone removing them immediately. Officials are expected to verify licence numbers for commercial advertisements, but hoarding owners don’t seem to care.”
She asked how hoardings are allowed to be installed on top of buildings and houses and demanded a complete ban. Political figures are often behind putting up flexes and banners for their own benefit, but later claim they were put up by their fans, she pointed out.
BBMP officials were unavailable for comment.