This decision was taken as part of the KMC drive to prevent road accidents by curbing visual pollution and freeing city streets of encroachers. According to traffic rules, no ad agency can instal billboards within 50 metres of any traffic intersection. But this rule is violated with impunity.

Also, because of rampant installation of billboards block the pedestrians' view of many prominent heritage buildings. Complaints have poured in from residents across the city alleging that unauthorised installation of billboards denies them a clear view from their homes.

KMC officials say 320 street hoardings have been granted licenses. "Though we have decided to stop issuing licenses to ad agencies for street hoardings, we can't stop installation of billboards on residential houses. We can at best regulate them," an MMiC said. Sources in KMC's advertisement department say though 2,500 such hoardings have been sanctioned by the civic body, the number of illegal hoardings was no less than 800.

The KMC top brass concede that the decision to ban hoardings was largely influenced by `unauthorised' erection of hoardings.

"We have started conducting raids against illegal hoardings at several places. In the past month, we have dismantled more than 50 hoardings," the mayor-in-council member (advertisements) said.