RTI activist Anil Galgali has called on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to remove billboards from footpaths, citing potential safety hazards. This demand follows an incident in Ghatkopar East, where a misplaced billboard caused significant issues. Galgali fears similar accidents could occur elsewhere in the city.
In a letter addressed to Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Additional Commissioner Dr. Ashwini Joshi, MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, and Deputy Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar, Galgali highlighted that over 50 billboards are prominently displayed on footpaths. These installations have been permitted by the BMC and MMRDA.
Galgali’s letter emphasized the increasing wind speeds and changing atmospheric conditions in Mumbai, raising concerns about the durability of these billboards. “Footpaths are meant for pedestrians,” he stated, “but the large billboards installed on them pose a risk of collapsing at any time.”
Galgali urged that the pavement advertisement boards authorized by the BMC and MMRDA be removed as a priority. He also called for the cancellation of provisions allowing billboard placements on footpaths in the new advertisement policy.
