KMC: No billboard at Shyambazar, Gariahat, Hazra, 9 other crossings
Times of India | 3 September 2024
Kolkata: As part of a plan to de-clutter some of the city’s major traffic crossings and reduce visual pollution, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to ban billboards within 50-metre radius of 12 prime intersections.
The KMC authorities have introduced a new advertisement policy that will prohibit erection of billboards at Gariahat, Ballygunge Phari, Park Circus 7-point crossing, Hazra crossing, Excide crossing, Ultadanga Hudco crossing, Shyambazar 5-point crossing among others.
According to the policy, the KMC will allow erection of only monopoles or unipoles that will replace the iron structure hoardings that take up space on the pavement and also cause visual pollution.
The KMC advertisement department has also prohibited display of billboards at prime heritage zones and heritage structures that include entire BBD Bagh, the entire Maidan area including Citizens’ Park, Elliot Park, Monohardas Tarag, Curzon Park, the vast expense of the Maidan in front of Eden Gardens, Netaji Indoor Stadium, Calcutta High Court, Victoria Memorial Hall, Town Hall GPO and Tipu Sultan mosque. It has declared Mother Teresa Sarani (Park Street) and Abanindra Nath Thakur Sarani (Camac Street) as private hoarding free zones.
According to a KMC advertisement department official, these areas have been brought under a ‘no advertisement zone’. The department has created a green zone under its new policy where display of billboards has been banned. “The area surrounding Vivekananda Yuba Bharati stadium and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose international airport, surrounding areas from airport, Jessore Road side to the stadium along with Biswa Bangla Sarani and EM Bypass up to Parama Island. Airport to Chinar Park via Kaji Nazrul Islam Sarani, Parama Island to Nabanna via Maa flyover and AJC Bose Road flyover, from Nabanna to New Alipore through Alipore Road, Red Road have been declared as green zones. No hoarding material will be displayed in the green zone,” said a KMC advertisement department official.
The new advertisement policy clearly puts a bar on the structure of the billboards that should not obstruct the vision of any traffic signal, block the passage, entrance or cause inconvenience of access to any buildings (both entry and exit), block light or circulation or ventilation of light/air to any buildings. The policy also makes it mandatory for the billboard agencies to take care of the architectural features of any buildings. The KMC advertisement department will conduct structural stability tests of the billboard structures from time to time.