Civic teams conducted an overnight operation on Friday to clear around 300 hoardings that had been erected for Durga Puja.

The drive was launched after the seven-day deadline for removing the hoardings expired on Thursday.

Two teams visited EM Bypass and south Calcutta.

A Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) official said they had planned similar drives next week as hoardings still line many city roads.

“One of the teams covered EM Bypass, from Ultadanga to Dhalai Bridge in Briji. The other team started from Esplanade and visited Park Street, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Gurusaday Road and Iron Side Road,” said a KMC official.

“Around 300 hoardings were pulled down. The bamboo frames on which the hoardings were hung were dismantled in very few places. The primary focus was on taking down the hoardings,” said the KMC official.

This is the first time KMC has set a deadline to remove the hoardings. In previous years, the hoardings remained for weeks after Durga Puja.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Advertisement Policy) Regulations, 2025, says that “temporary advertisements (put up by both advertising agencies and Puja Committees) may be allowed from 7 (seven) days before Mahalaya and may be continued up to 7 (seven) days after Bijaya Dashami.”

The installation of the temporary hoardings violated regulations even before Durga Puja began, as they were put up more than a week before Mahalaya.

Now, by failing to remove the hoardings, the advertising agencies are committing a second violation — failure to adhere to the seven-day deadline set by the KMC for post-Puja clearance.

“The hoardings carried advertisements of 25 to 30 companies or brands. We will write to the companies informing them about a penalty for keeping the hoardings after the deadline,” said an official.

Officials explained the challenge of penalising violators: Since it’s difficult to identify the specific outdoor advertising agency responsible for a hoarding, the KMC adopts an indirect but effective strategy.

Instead of targeting the agency, the corporation writes directly to the companies whose products are advertised on the hoardings.

“When we write to the companies, they halt payment to the agencies,” an official stated. This tactic successfully pressures the agencies through their clients to ensure the unauthorised hoardings are promptly removed.

The penalty is three times the actual fee for erecting a temporary hoarding. KMC also recovers the cost borne by it to remove the hoardings.

Though the penalty is three times the actual fee, the hoardings were put up without paying any fee to KMC. “Temporary Puja hoardings are free as per a government decision. We do not earn any revenue from these advertisements,” said an official.

The civic body has planned similar drives on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.