Bengaluru: BBMP’s ‘compromised deal’ lights up safety concerns

Bengaluru: Pedestrian safety in the city will go for a toss as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has permitted a private advertiser to install as many as 1,560 LED boards on footpaths near traffic signals. This decision is part of a “compromise deal” between the BBMP and the advertising agency in lieu of constructing nearly 400 police kiosks at traffic junctions.

The LED boards, for instance, have come up in different directions at the Indiranagar KFC junction, near the 12th main road on the same stretch, Nrupathunga Road and Anil Kumble Circle etc.

SR Kemparaju, executive director of Signpost India, stated that the LED boards are being installed under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme with the BBMP and traffic police. He also referenced a High Court case where the BBMP’s executive engineer and the advertising agency filed a Joint Memorandum of Compromise in June 2023.

The agency approached the High Court in September 2021 after the BBMP and traffic police demanded the removal of large hoardings that were installed beyond the scope of the original contract. N Manjunath Prasad, who was the BBMP commissioner at the time, affirmed that the agency was only permitted to install hoardings on top of the kiosk and ordered the removal of any provisions not included in the tender documents but added in the agreement.

“As per the settlement, we will install four LED boards, each with a size of 40 square feet, near every kiosk,” Kemparaju said. 

Tushar Girinath, BBMP’s chief commissioner, noted that the agreement was modified after the police objected to advertisement hoardings atop the kiosks. “Since what was originally allowed was huge, we have allowed four smaller LEDs.”

The Bengaluru traffic police had also urged the civic body not to allow any hoarding within a 50-metre radius of road junctions, bridges, or crossings, referencing guidelines from the Indian Road Congress on advertisements on public roads. Girinath assured that any hoardings within the 50-metre radius would be relocated.

Sandeep Anirudhan, convener of Citizens Agenda for Bengaluru, criticized the arrangement, noting that the placement of LED boards in the middle of footpaths is illegal and poses safety risks.  “All laws disallow structures that obstruct passage of pedestrians or vehicles. Such structures can also lead to accidents.”