Mysuru: In a major crackdown on illegal advertisement boards, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) is removing the boards installed in various parts of the city.

MCC has launched the drive from Dec. 18 to remove various types of advertisement boards installed on the footpaths, without obtaining pre-requisite permission. A team of Revenue Division officials from MCC, assisted by Abhaya, emergency rescue team personnel and gangmen, is involved in the clearance drive.

Following a report published under the headline ‘Over 500 illegal hoardings ruin city landscape’ in Dec. 15, 2024 edition of Star of Mysore (SOM), MCC Commissioner Ashaad-Ur-Rahman Shariff had directed Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Somashekar to initiate action. Somashekar conducted a meeting with his staff and prepared a list of such illegal advertisement boards.

Except for 210 boards that have been installed, after seeking the approval of MCC by paying the due fees, over 500 boards have cropped up illegally, as found during the inspection.

A report along with photo and video of such boards had been submitted by Revenue Officers to the Revenue DC. Beginning from the early hours of Wednesday, MCC officials launched the drive by deploying earth moving vehicles along with tractors and Abhaya team.

Somashekar told SOM, the drive is expected to be completed by this evening, with already 50 percent of illegal ad boards being removed. About 25 such boards had been installed on a stretch of road from Hotel Metropole Circle to Hinkal Outer Ring Road (ORR) junction, 10 from Hotel Royal Inn Junction to Dasappa Circle, 30 on a stretch of JLB Road from Railway Station to Nanjangud Road Junction and other prominent roads like Chamaraja Double Road, Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road, totalling over 750 boards, thus marring the visual beauty of the city.

Mysuru District Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda, who welcomed the MCC drive against illegal ad boards, however, asked why the City Corporation is spending lakhs of rupees on removing the illegal boards, for the fault of others. Henceforth, MCC should not give room for the unauthorised ad boards to come up in the city.