BMC removes over 11,500 illegal banners and posters after Ganesh festival

Of the total removed, around 70% were religious, 20% political, and 10% commercial in nature.

By  Storyboard18| Sep 29, 2025 11:54 AM
(Image Source: News18)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has removed a total of 11,563 illegal banners, posters, and advertisement boards from public spaces across the city following the Ganesh festival, between September 7 and September 12, according to media reports.

Of the total removed, around 70% were religious, 20% political, and 10% commercial in nature.

The civic body reportedly carries out a special drive every year to tackle the surge in unauthorized hoardings and banners that appear during major festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, and Diwali. As per BMC regulations, Ganesh mandals are permitted to display banners within a 15-metre radius of their pandals. However, banners placed on road dividers, traffic signals, footpath bollards, and traffic islands are not authorised.

The highest number of illegal banners was removed from:

Andheri East – 1,729

Lower Parel – 1,085

Dadar – 982

Girgaon – 833

Additionally, BMC reported 20 instances of wall defacement and removed 1,009 flags from different parts of the city.

Despite the scale of the issue, only one FIR was filed, and 28 police complaints were lodged by the civic body during the drive.

A senior civic official explained that punitive action is feasible only when the source of the hoarding or banner is clearly identifiable. However, most banners do not carry identifiable information such as names, signatures, or contact details. In cases involving political hoardings, action is taken against the political parties named or visibly associated with the material, the official added.

First Published onSep 29, 2025 11:54 AM

SPOTLIGHT

Brand MakersDil Ka Jod Hai, Tootega Nahin

"The raucous, almost deafening, cuss words from the heartland that Piyush Pandey used with gay abandon turned things upside down in the old world order."

Read More

The new face of the browser: Who’s building AI-first browsers, what they do and how they could upend advertising

From OpenAI’s ChatGPT-powered Atlas to Microsoft’s Copilot-enabled Edge, a new generation of AI-first browsers is transforming how people search, surf and interact online — and reshaping the future of digital advertising.