With Namma Metro construction work going on at one side and the four-feet wide footpath encroached upon by vendors, reaching Vani Vilas and Victoria hospitals is quite a task.
With Namma Metro construction work going on at one side and the four-feet wide footpath encroached upon by vendors, reaching Vani Vilas and Victoria hospitals is quite a task. Those visiting these two hospitals also have to contend with an obstacle course of uneven and shaky stone slabs and the construction debris lying on the way.
“It has been impossible to come to the hospital, as I have to carry my baby, my bag and the essentials for the child. If the footpath was level, we can walk easily over it. But it is uneven and has become very difficult to walk on. I have missed a couple of appointments just because I did not want to pass by this place,” Sameena Ahmed, a resident of Mysore Road, said.
For Sameera, who visits Victoria hospital to see her grand-mother at the ward, it is a punishment. “I have asthma and when I walk on this road, the dust makes me feel very sick. Trekking is better than walking on this road, as it is no less than an adventure. The stone slabs are all weak and it shakes when we step on them,” she said.
With the roadside vendors taking up most of the footpath space, it is a hellish experience for patients. “There is no space to walk. We are old people and we cannot even think of walking on such a footpath,” Gandhamma, a 68-year-old woman, said. She had recently undergone an eye operation.
“With just one limb, I need to do circus to reach the hospital,” Ramkumara Jagir, resident of Chamrajpet. The 27-year-old had lost her leg in an accident on the same road, seven years ago.
Although the pathetic state of affairs has been on the radar of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for many years, it will take them at least six months before any repairs can begin. “The issue was raised on Thursday in a meeting. Victoria and Vani Vilas patients are finding it very hard to walk on the road and it needs urgent attention,” BBMP public relations officer Khandre said.
Though repairs will take time, evacuation of the vendors will take place soon. “We tried to make a separate hawkers zone in the city in Koramangala. But it did not work because, people did not go there. But, we have been asked to start the evacuation drive soon,” the BBMP official added.
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