Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, on Wednesday allowed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to erect hoardings bearing COVID-19 awareness messages, however, such hoardings should not carry any commercial endorsements.
The permission in this regard was granted by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Alok Aradhe.
Elaborating on the intentions behind putting up the hoardings, BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar stated that they wanted to raise awareness about the safety measures in order to control the spread of the disease. He also submitted a list of places where they intend to erect the hoardings.
While permitting the hoardings, the Court stated that “no person will be allowed to advertise any product or any other item” on the hoardings and that “no other information except those requires for spreading awareness and giving requisite information to the public to prevent the spread of the virus” can be displayed on the same.
The Court also directed the BBMP to publicise on the hoarding, the availability of COVID-19 testing centres and hospital beds.
The BBMP, as per reports, stated that it intends to spend Rs 49.5 crores out of its 2020-2 budget for this purpose.
Meanwhile, the Court also said that once the virus is brought under control, the hoardings were to be removed within a reasonable period of time.
