File photo of hoardings put up in Bengaluru.
Credit: DH file photo
Bengaluru: Amid rising pedestrian deaths, the Karnataka government has lifted an explicit ban on commercial hoardings on Bengaluru’s footpaths.
Under the new “industry-friendly” rules, advertisers can install hoardings not just on private premises but also on public spaces if they secure permission from the city corporation commissioner and pay the ground rent. This is expected to open the doors for hoardings on footpaths.
The revised advertisement policy — notified on November 13 — has relaxed rules that once kept advertisers at bay. Just recently, companies had skipped the bidding for citywide advertising rights by blaming stringent norms laid down by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
“There shall be no hoarding or advertisement on footpaths unless it is permitted by the city corporation… without causing any hindrance or annoyance to footpath users,” it has stated, potentially allowing its misuse.
This is a sharp departure from the July notification, which had made the protection of pedestrians explicit. “There shall be no hoarding or advertisement on footpaths,” the earlier policy had stated.
For pedestrians, who are most vulnerable road users, the U-turn will only make walking a perilous exercise. This comes at a time when pedestrians are forced to dodge obstructions like garbage dumps, shop encroachments, utility poles and even saplings, leaving them to vie for space with vehicles.