#KillBills Drive: Civic Hub Leaders on a Mission

B.PAC’s Civic Hub initiative has taken off in full swing this summer and we are pleased to update you on our latest initiatives and campaigns.

Visual pollution in the form of illegal bills and hoardings have been plaguing the city for years now and the menace is increasing day by day. Billboards are put up for the most trivial and ignorable reasons. Civic Hub participants conceptualized a unique campaign called ‘KillBills’ which was an effort to get rid of the unsightly bills and flyers that have been pasted on public walls and trees.

The B.CLIP Civic Hub participants brought citizens together in their respective wards. Nine wards across Bengaluru undertook the first such citywide drive against the persisting problem of illegal bills, posters and flyers that can be found on both public and private properties and even open spaces.

Several provisions under the Municipal Act, Karnataka Police Act, The Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement Act) have laws enabled to act against any such offenses. However, action on such blatant defacement of the city has been tardy.

Some dynamic officials from BBMP were working hard to get rid of this menace and improve revenue collections by closely monitoring hoardings to be put only on the space reserved for commercial advertisements and after making due payment.

HSR Layout led by Civic Hub leader Kavitha Reddy & Team

Civic Hub leader and Kavitha Reddy spearheaded the campaign. Kavitha’s team consisted of citizens from all walks of life, from children to retired citizens; her ward saw a huge turnout.

What stood out was the fact that this particular group saw the participation of most number of individuals who displayed enthusiasm to make their city cleaner. The participation displayed speak for itself about the magnitude of impact it has borne on the locality.

Illegal posters have tarnished the beauty of the city and we aim to put an end to this mess, we know that it is a long process but we would like to take one step at a time was the message sent out by Kavitha and her team.

Sanjayanagar led by Subbaiah TS & Geetha G

Civic Hub leaders of Sanjaynagar ward 18 Subaiah and Geetha led the campaign kick started campaign at 7 AM, the cleanliness drive went on for about two hours. Several local residents lauded the team and gave them a helping hand.

“#KillBill will be carried out once by phases on a fortnightly basis so as to send a clear message that the citizens will not tolerate any kind of damages to public property” said Subbaiah. Civic Hub leaders met the Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management), Subodh Yadav, who went on to laud the efforts put by the team. He added that Sanjaynagar stood as a model for waste management. With segregation levels boosting up to 80% in the recent few days, the area has proved itself to be one among the cleanest in Bangalore.

Joining the meeting later was Kumar Naik, Commissioner of BBMP who hailed #KillBill initiative terming it as a very successful campaign. Local residents raised several points imperative to collection of garbage, waste segregation and management.

Gayathrinagar led by Kaveri Kedarnath & Team

Led by Civic Hub leader Kaveri Kedarnath, the drive here was a huge success. The citizens celebrated the fact that MLA Ashwath Narayan took part in in a citizen-centric initiative voluntarily. MLA Ashwath Narayan showed immense support for #KillBill campaign in Malleshwaram and its surroundings. He also lauded Kaveri for taking the initiative to bring people together.

Kaveri was pleased to see immense involvement by the citizens of Malleshwaram and also acknowledged Narayan’s support for the campaign describing it as a backbone to their campaign.

Sampangiramnagar led by Sufiyan & Team

Civic Hub leader M.D Sufiyan spearheaded the drive on Infantry road and several adjoining roads. The area was perpetually plagued by illegal posters. Special Commissioner Sarfaraz Khan joined Sufiyan and encouraged citizens to remove all the illegal posters.

Articles about the campaign were seen in the newspapers the next morning. Sarfaraz played an important role in establishing logistical support for many of the wards where #KillBill campaign had been initiated. He also urged the Civic Leaders lodge formal complaints with the BBMP against the offenders to take action.

Mahalakshmipuram led by Jayalakshmi & Team

Deputy Mayor Hemalatha kick-started the campaign in Mahalakshmipuram. Civic hub leader Jayalakshmi then took charge of the drive in ward no 68. She gathered a team consisting youngsters, house wives, and several other citizens of the ward. Jayalakshmi spearheaded a unique drive where several women used kitchen tools to remove the illegal posters that were stuck on walls and trees.

Noticing the group of women removing the bills, several passerby joined them and ensured that they did their bit to get rid of the mess. Special Commissioner Sarfaraz Khan also visited and inspected the ward. “People have ruined the beauty of the ward by sticking posters everywhere and even trees are covered with it. We will ensure that necessary action will be taken against the offenders” he said.

Other Citizen Groups Who Joined B.PAC’s Initiative

Domlur:
Several other citizen groups such as Domlur Rising led by Shiv Kumar and ‘I Change Indiranagar’ led by Praveen joined the campaign in their respective areas.

Indiranagar:
Citizens of Indiranagar followed the Kill bills campaign online and decided to participate. A few good Samaritan gathered in the morning and decided to clean up 100 feet road and 80 feet road.

Bellandur:
Citizens of Bellandur stepped forward and did the same. They gathered around 8am and took to the streets. They removed illegal posters and banners and also called the special commissioner urging him to take action against the offenders.

Citizens across the city have shown interest to be part of the campaign. We shall do more such drives across the city and advocate sustainable measure to make our city free of visual pollution.