Bangaloreans, watch where you step

Start a conversation about footpaths at your own risk, for the very mention of this utility can send even the most reticent resident of Bangalore into an unending rant. And it’s the same long list of complaints.

The common experience is, of course, that they are unusable.
“Where do we begin? Garbage and urination has made walking into our locality unpleasant. You will not come into this area if you see the condition of the footpaths here,” says Anand MS, a resident of LIC Colony in Jeevan Bima Nagar. Repeated complaints to the BBMP have fallen on deaf ears.

Putting a picture of Lord Ganesha on the compound wall, too, has not deterred those urinating right by the garbage strewn by nearby restaurants, he adds. 

“There are no footpaths in Thippasandra. There are too many vendors and too much traffic. I am fed up,” says Anand. In Richards Town, the experience is no different. The footpaths are wide but uneven.

Roots of trees and plants have broken through the pavement, garbage is strewn all around. Shashidhar KG, Richards Town Residents’ Association vice-president, says his organisation has been working with the BBMP to fix part of the problem, but others still remain.

A permanent solution to the issue, it seems, is elusive. RWAs have been repeatedly writing to the civic authorities. “The garbage is thrown at night. There isn’t much we can do,” Anand says.