Performances on bridge scrapped

Plan to allow performances on bridge scrapped

THE plan to allow street performances on the normally deserted Komtar overhead pedestrian bridge in George Town has been called off.

Penang Municipal Council’s Public Health and Licensing Standing Committee alternate chairman Tay Leong Seng said the plan had to be scrapped after much deliberation on its viability during a full council meeting last month.

“The walkway is too narrow. We do not want the place to be cramped and overcrowded,” he said when contacted yesterday.

“However, two places – Gurney Drive and Komtar Walk – have been identified as possible venues for such activities to be carried out. But everything is still at a premature stage.”

It was earlier reported that the bridge, built in the early 1990s at a cost of RM1mil, was set to come alive with street performances and kiosks selling Penang products and souvenirs pending a full council endorsement.

Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik had said that activities needed to be carried out on the bridge as a feng shui master had told him that Komtar would only come alive if the bridge was “recharged with vigour and vitality”.

Ng had said that street performers, who normally needed a permit from the council to perform in public places, would not need to obtain approval from the authorities to perform on the bridge or on its steps.

As for the kiosks, Tay said the council would be calling for a tender to set up eight of them on the bridge.

He added that the council’s tender board was in the midst of drafting out the working papers before uploading it to the council’s website.

“No food or drinks are allowed to be sold on the bridge.

“The operation hours are from 10am to 10pm,” he said.

-News courtesy of The Star-