Hoarding pulled down twice by BBMP for cutting trees back up again, residents irked

The hoarding was pulled down for the second time as recently as Saturday by the BBMP as per Lokayukta orders.
Hoarding pulled down twice by BBMP for cutting trees back up again, residents irked
Hoarding pulled down twice by BBMP for cutting trees back up again, residents irked

Residents living in and around Bellandur, Iblur junctions in Bengaluru are angry after a hoarding for which 25 trees were mercilessly chopped on Outer Ring Road, has been put up even after it was pulled down twice.

The hoarding was pulled down for the second time as recently as Saturday by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) as per Lokayukta orders. It was first pulled down on May 10, a day after the trees were cut down to increase the visibility for the advertisement, sparking massive outrage from citizens.

“Today when I was travelling back from office, I noticed the hoarding is back again, in fact a new hoarding has been put. We have been protesting since the time it was first taken down and this looks like a very shameless act and I don’t know how we can stop them,” Amaresh Lakshminarayana said. 

A week after the trees were cut down, the Bellandur Police registered an FIR. Following the FIR, the advertising company had given an assurance that no such thing will occur in the future.

Resident-activist Sonali SIngh said, “We just came to know that it has been put again. This time the advertisement is different. The point of putting the hoarding down is to hurt them financially as a punishment for cutting down 25 trees. This just shows they have no shame.”

According to Lokayukta orders, every hoarding for which trees have been damaged has to be pulled down and the BBMP has been asked to cancel the licence for the hoarding company.

Following campaigns and widespread media coverage, the hoarding was pulled down in a joint drive by the BBMP’s Forest Cell and residents living near the Outer Ring Road.

But the advertising company Shobha, which put up the hoarding according to BBMP records, had initially denied any involvement in the cutting down of the trees. 

However, after pressure from residents, the owner of the building where the hoarding is situated, admitted to chopping the trees.

Bengaluru, known for its tree-lined neighbourhoods and main roads covered with canopies formed by over-reaching branches of trees, has seen multiple instances of tree culling by advertisers in recent times. 

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