BBMP staff, postmen told to meet flag sales targets

Two days before the Har Ghar Tiranga programme rolls out, the authorities are scrambling to meet their flag sales targets.

In Bengaluru, the BBMP has been asked to sell 15 lakh machine-made polyester national flags, up from a target of 10 lakh set earlier. It is selling each flag for Rs 22.

The BJP aims to sell 10 lakh flags from its state headquarters, mostly to party workers. Post offices have also been given targets.

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The BBMP is scrambling to meet the target, amid complaints that some flags are defective. It is prodding resident welfare associations (RWA) to buy the flags and also roping in pourakarmikas (municipal workers) to help with the sales.

A BBMP official from the Indiranagar ward, said each subdivision (three to four wards) had to sell 4,000 flags. “We have sold 3,500,” he said.

“The remaining 500 were defective, and we are returning them.”

The subdivision consists of Indiranagar, JB Nagar and Konena Agrahara wards.

The official said the flags were mainly sold to RWAs and shops. “As for individual houses, we visited only ward committee members and party workers,” he said.

Vikram Mailar Vijay, resident of HBR Layout, said an RWA had bought flags from the BBMP staff but the quality was poor. “The threads are coming off,” he said.

The BBMP is confident of selling 14 lakh flags, just short of the 15 lakh target, according to Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath.

“There are 19 lakh properties in the city. Even if we assume that 75,000 to one lakh flags are defective, we will still be able to distribute flags to at least 14 lakh properties. We are targeting at least 75 per cent of the properties in the city. Depending on the population and number of properties, our zonal officials have been given targets,” he told DH.

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Nitin Seshadri, a Koramangala resident, said mail carriers had also been given targets, and were selling substandard flags.

“A postman came to our house last Friday and sold it for Rs 24. Only when I unfolded it the next day did I realise that I couldn’t use it because the Ashok Chakra looks completely misshapen,” he said.

According to Seshadri, the postman told his wife he had a quota. “The postman is part of the local community. So when he says so, you feel like helping him,” he said.

Some elected representatives are distributing them for free. An RWA member of Horamavu Agara said staff from MLA Byrathi Basavaraj’s office offered to distribute the flags for free.