Bangalore is a city that cares for cars, and not you

There is nothing new about the poor condition of footpaths in Bangalore, but what stirs the mind is the silence of the pedestrian who is exposed to all kinds of dangers, thanks to the bad pavements or the lack of it. DNA takes a look at why a Bangalorean remains a silent observer.

Most people in the city are oblivious to the fact that by its very definition, a road is incomplete without a proper footpath and that the pedestrian is an important stakeholder in the footpaths and also has the sole right to use them. The municipal corporation has failed to disseminate information that a common man could use to voice his concerns.

Kathyayani Chamraj of CIVIC says, “Pedestrians are mostly people who cannot afford cars and have no voice when compared with the urban elite. Like a class of urban poor, which is voiceless and not organised enough to express its concerns, the pedestrians have not been able to shake or move the civic bodies to improve the conditions of the footpaths in the city.”

Hasiru Usiru is one of the few groups actively organising programmes expressing concerns and dangers that the pedestrians are exposed to. Sridhar Raman, who has been conducting a programme ‘Come Cross the Roads’ to inculcate the righteousness of the pedestrian, says, “The biggest reason pedestrians aren’t voicing their anger is their failure to understand their rights. The public, be it pedestrians or motorists, assumes that all road infrastructure is meant first for vehicles. Pedestrians are assumed to come much lower in the pecking order,” said Sridhar Raman.

He continues, “We see pedestrians scared to step down on to the road and cross at a zebra-crossing, even though the right of way is with the pedestrian. We see pedestrians giving way to motorists riding even on footpaths; a vehicle has no right to be on the pavement. This lack of awareness is the biggest reason behind the pedestrians not getting the attention they deserve.”

If the public is made aware that the road and the footpaths belong to the pedestrian first and foremost, more pedestrian voices will rise, added Raman.

“City municipal corporation should have made ward committees for ordinary pedestrians. Right now, it is not clear as to who should one complain to about the ill-maintained footpaths—the ward officer, the corporator or the engineer?” says Vinay Sridhar from Hasiru Usiru, an environmental group.

J Sreenivasan of Koramangala Matters echoed similar sentiments. “Who should a pedestrian complain to? The BBMP? Forget it, it’s a waste of time. All the pedestrian can do is to vent his anger and frustration and go back to fending himself,” he says.
He also pointed out that Bescom’s structures are the next biggest hurdle on Bangalore roads, with low-lying transformers and electric poles erected bang in the middle of what may pass as a footpath. “There are helplines where no one answers the call,” Sreenivasan says.

In defence to the flak concrete pavements draw, the BBMP’s engineering chief, BT Ramesh, says, “We had laid the pavements with the interlocking slab system about eight years ago. But after receiving complaints from people, we started laying concrete pedestrian walkways.”

Meenakshi Bharat, a citizen activist from Malleswaram, says, whatever is left of pavements, is being taken away by civic officials. “Huge areas are being dug around the tree to ‘water’ them.”
A bigger nuisance is people turning every foot path into ‘pee land’. The stench is so unbearable that people prefer walking on the road.

Manvel Alur, of the RWA in Koramangala says, “Where are pedestrian crossings or pavements ever planned in the larger scheme of things? Koramangala, Vasanthnagar, Adugodi, Vivek Nagar, Commercial Street are some areas where there is hardly any footpath.”

“Motorists are given importance in our country and pedestrians are forgotten, in spite of walking being a healthier, more energy and environment-friendly option. The RWAs should work towards this in a big way,” she adds.