With the poll code of conduct coming into effect, a drive to clear flex boards, banners, buntings and posters have been started in the city.
Deputy Commissioner N Manjushri, who held an emergency meeting on Tuesday, after the poll dates were announced, directed the authorities concerned to remove all government and private advertisement boards, flex boards, banners and other publicity materials within 24 hours. The City Municipal Council employees started to remove them from Tuesday evening itself.
On Wednesday morning, the civic workers began clearing advertisement boards and other publicity materials, including cinema posters, on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, main roads, party offices, residential areas, parks and other places.
The advertisements that were an eyesore have been cleared and the city looks cleaner. The walls on the roads had thickened due to the pasting of posters in layers, one above the other. The civic workers had to use blades and knives to remove them.
Besides, the posters and handbills that were pasted on trees, marring the beauty of the city, have also been removed. The flex boards and banners that were erected during the visit of political leaders have now disappeared. "Now, the city looks beautiful," said a retired engineer, Suresh.