Mangaluru: Illegal hoardings and flex banners have surfaced at several places in the city amid Dasara festivities. Banners wishing for Dasara and different other private hoardings have come up at prominent locations including Mangaladevi, BR Ambedkar Circle and other locations. MCC commissioner Rahul Ratnam Pandey spoke to TOI on Friday and said that the corporation had been removing illegal hoardings based on information and complaints received from the public.He said a large flex banner put up illegally had been removed recently, and the corporation would take action against unauthorised displays. “We are removing them wherever we receive information. If the hoardings are illegal, we will remove them,” Pandey said, adding that many complaints were received.However, the corporation will temporarily put its hoarding removal drive on hold for the next two days as its revenue staff focus on clearing pending khata applications.Pandey said the corporation had more than 3,300 khata applications pending and was aiming to clear at least 1,500 applications over the next three days, till Sunday.He said the pendency had increased during the special intensive revision (SIR) period, which had affected the availability of staff and delayed the processing of applications. With people returning to the city during the Dasara season to complete registration-related work, the corporation has prioritised clearing the backlog.“The entire revenue staff is working together to clear the khatas. We want to clear at least 1,500 pending applications over the next three days. We will resume the drive from Monday,” he said.
