A 70-year-old man was injured when a flex board crashed on him in Rajanukunte, on the outskirts of the city, on Saturday. The hoarding was put up by a resident to convey birthday wishes to his friend.
The victim, identified as Bhaktavatsalam, is a resident of Singanayakanahalli and was returning home after fetching his granddaughter from school when the accident happened.
The girl, along with other passersby, escaped narrowly, but Bhaktavatsalam sustained severe injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he is being treated in the Intensive Care Unit. The Rajanukunte police reached the spot, inspected the accident scene, and removed hoardings and flexes put up in and around the area.
The police have asked the panchayat authorities to check whether permission was taken to put up the board. The police have also asked panchayat officials to identify and remove illegal hoardings in public places, causing inconvenience to people.
A giant billboard collapsed in Mumbai in May 2024, killing at least 16 people and leaving over 75 people injured. The very next day, an empty billboard collapsed on the southeastern outskirts of Bengaluru. But fortunately, no one was injured. After this, the city’s civic body launched a special drive to remove illegal hoardings.
Meanwhile, hoardings, which have been banned in the city for the past six years, are all set to make a comeback under the new advertisement policy, a draft of which is yet to be made public by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
Published - July 07, 2024 09:07 pm IST