Bescom to clamp down on billboards

Bescom to clamp down on billboards
BY CHETANA BELAGERE and SAMIHA NETTIKARA
BENGALURU







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I Switching off hoarding lights after 10 pm will save electricity, say authorities I There are nearly 25 lakh billboards in the city and many of them display advertise- ments well past midnight. Commercial establishments also waste electricity by leaving their signboard lights on late into the night
With the power crisis threatening to spiral out of control, Bescom has decided to clamp down on outdoor advertisers who keep hoardings lit past midnight and in the daytime.

To save power Bescom has requested advertisers to reduce power consumption by a third during peak hours, from 6 pm to 10 pm.

“It is a request that is not legally binding on the advertisers for now,” said Bescom managing director Tushar Girinath. “We are trying to come out with a legalised order.” Mr Girinath said the switching off hoarding lights after 10 pm will save electricity and reduce the load on transformers. “During this crisis, it would be unfair for outdoor advertisements to be given priority over homes,” he said.

Billboards lights are left on in the daytime in many parts of the city. There are nearly 25 lakh billboards in the city and many of them display advertisements well past midnight. Commercial establishments also waste electricity by leaving their signboard lights on late into the night.

Civic authorities are no exception to the squandering what is now a very scarce commodity, even though they are expected to set an example for the rest of the city.

To light up a hoarding, the advertiser has to receive a no-objection certificate from the landlord and get permission from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Following these approvals, Bescom provides electricity to light the hoardings.

Outdoor advertisers deny that they are big power guzzlers, and complain instead that power cuts during peak hours result in their hoardings not being lit the entire day.

“The hoardings use an automated lighting system set to a particular time. Suppose I set the timer at 6.30 pm and there is no power at that time, the hoarding will not be lit until 6.30 pm the next day,” explained a prominent outdoor advertiser.

“Our consumption of electricity has already reduced by almost 75 per cent. Bill boards are lit for only an hour or so instead of three hours,” he added.

In Mumbai, solar-powered hoardings are used to cut down on electricity consumption. However, the cost of installing such hoardings deters advertisers in Bengaluru from using them. “Night-glow stickers are a better and cheaper option,” said Surendranath of Megha Publicity. “It requires onetime installation and serves the purpose.”