MCC pulls down advt hoardings

Following SC order, civic body removed authorised and unauthorised billboards

In a major drive against publicity materials, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) on Wednesday pulled down hoardings and flex boards in the city.

Following the Supreme Court order (writ petition 295/2012) to remove publicity materials that mar the beauty of cities across the country, the MCC officials split into several teams and removed hoardings and flex boards.

A MCC official, preferring anonymity, told Deccan Herald, “In a recent meeting attended by the assistant commissioners and development officers of nine zones, MCC Commissioner C G Betsurmath had strictly ordered to raze the publicity materials. Moreover, the officials were also instructed to return the cheques to the clients who had already applied for renewal of the licence period for the publicity materials”.

The drive was simultaneously launched in all nine zones in the city.
At Zone three alone, that includes Ward 20 represented by Mayor R Lingappa, a total of 35 hoardings were removed.

The hoardings publicising government schemes and programmes, including those erected by public sector units like LIC were also not spared, said another official.

Pieces
Besides the MCC gangmen, earth moving vehicles were used to pull down heavy metallic structures. Later, they were cut into pieces with the help of electrical cutters and dumped at the Sewage Farm at Vidyaranyapuram.

According to MCC records, there are a total of 285 hoardings in the city, in addition to unauthorised publicity materials that run up to several hundreds.

Advt lobby
Following the drive, advertising agencies have already started to exert pressure on MCC officials. A meeting of Taxation and Finance Standing Committee, convened on Thursday, is expected to discuss the issue.