Unauthorised shamianas trouble road users in City

It is a common sight all over the City. Shamianas and tents that come up overnight blocking the entire road, not only forcing people to take diversions, but inconveniencing neighbours.

In many residential areas, especially old parts of the City, residential lanes are not more than 30 feet wide. Most people who have a function in their house find it very convenient to block the entire road and put up shamianas. In most cases, neither are neighbours consulted to know whether it is convenient for them, nor any attempt is made to contact the authorities to seek permission.

“People raise shamianas on roads whether it is a public or private function, thereby causing inconvenience to the public by blocking vehicular movement. It is a common sight in the City, especially in areas such as Thyagarajanagar and N R Colony,” said Yoganarasimha, a resident of the area.

"The temple near my house celebrates all festivals, erecting tents and pandals for the same. This blocks the already narrow roads," said Rukmini, a resident of Jayanagar.
Although some tent house owners claim to be leaving out a certain amount of space for two wheelers and pedestrians to pass by, it is almost never the case that any space is left. "If they block the cross roads with shamianas, the entire stretch gets choked. Regardless pf whether the road is wide or narrow, many use the whole of it to put up shamianas," Rukmini added.

The sad part is that officials themselves are not sure about the rules involved in the case."For erecting a pandal, one does need the permission of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) zonal official, but shamianas do not need this," said BBMP's Engineer-in-Chief Ranga Raju. "This is because pandals are more elaborate and stay for a longer time,” he added.

Siddagowda, executive engineer, Dasarahalli zone, said permission is needed for erection of any kind of a tent in a public place. “On a 30 feet wide road, permission is given for up to 10 feet to be used as part of the tent. But at times, people use up the entire road for the purpose.”

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) B Dayananda said: “Even though we do not receive complaints as such from the public, wherever we notice there is as obstruction to the traffic, we take measures to clear it. In most cases, we remove the pandal or tent and if necessary, penalise the offender.”