The state government appears to be going soft on the advertisement lobby that made repeated attempts to lift the commercial advertising ban in Bengaluru.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the advertisement sector is generating “employment” and it should be allowed under the “frame of law”.
Asked specifically about the removal of advertisement hoardings near the Hebbal flyover, Shivakumar did not provide a direct response and merely stated that the sector is generating employment. “We will allow advertisements under the frame of law. It will not be allowed in a haphazard manner. I will review it,” he said.
His cabinet colleague Krishna Byre Gowda had opposed the illegal hoardings that had mushroomed in and around the Hebbal flyover. He made the objection in the assembly when the Congress party was in the Opposition.
Desilting scam?
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is suspecting irregularities in desilting lakes and rajakaluves, for which the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been spending crores of rupees.
Ordering a probe, he wanted to know where the BBMP had deposited the extraordinary amount of silt removed from lakes and large drains. Municipal authorities are desilting several lakes, including the ones at Bellandur and Varthur. Besides these, the civic body has also invested heavily in desilting rajakaluves.
The buzz in the BBMP is that bills are being submitted claiming payments for desilting, while the ground reality is otherwise.