Palike removes pillars from footpaths

Palike removes pillars from footpaths
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The advertisement pillars that had sprung up on the footpaths of MG Road and Residency Road were removed with the same speed on Thursday afternoon.

Men engaged by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) descended on these roads and quickly broke down the fibre pillars, removed the nuts and bolts that held the structures to the ground before dumping them in a waiting mini truck.

The BBMP action was apparently in response to media reports that had questioned the purpose of such advertisement pillars and the poor aesthetic appeal of the structures. The removal operation was carried out even as the contractors who put up the structures watched from a distance.

The pillars were set up by Alesh Collections, an outdoor advertising agency. Joseph Mariraj of the agency told Deccan Herald that the Palike had allowed Alesh Collections to set up the flower pots for a fee and that BBMP should have given him prior notice. ``They have destroyed the flower pots. If they were to tell us, we would have removed them ourselves,’’ he said.

Alesh Collection was awarded the advertising rights for a fee of Rs 3.80 lakh per year and the agency had sought to erect 100 such pots on MG Road, 100 on Residency Road, 100 on Bellary Road and 200 on the new airport road. However, it is not clear if any agency was allowed to place pots on sidewalks. BBMP officials were not immediately available for comment.