Bad footpaths: No solution in sight

The court has recognised footpaths as a fundamental right, but they are non-existent in many areas. People and vehicles encroach on the existing ones.

Bengaluru: Dipti Ramesh, a resident of Malleswaram in Bengaluru, broke her foot and could not work for two months after the new footpath was made near her home. "Its height and curve were the reason for my fall," she says, pointing at the pedestrian-unfriendly design of the footpaths.

Malleswaram has seen many experiments related to walkability and improving footpaths. Citizens have always been vocal about the issue, but this has not helped solve the problem.

Sunil Pichamuthu, a resident of Rest House Road in the heart of the city, complains about the pile of granite slabs lying on the pavement of Rest House Road close to its junction with Museum Road. This forces pedestrians to step on the busy road. He says it has been there for several years. A car detailing workshop also blocks the pavement here.

When elite areas like Malleswaram and Rest House Road, where citizens are vocal, have unwalkable footpaths, one can only imagine the plight of other crowded residential areas in the city. Dangling optical fibre cables, parking on the footpath, riding on the footpath, etc., are common problems. 

Some people do not want parking on the footpath; they place flower pots and gardens on it to stop it, thereby encroaching on it themselves.

Sheds erected on footpaths in front of under-construction projects are another problem in many areas. On busy commercial streets, various vendors who have their shops compete with each other to spread their extra items on footpaths and block the walking area. 

Seshadri S, a scientist based in Jakkur, says he shifted from cycling to walking because the underpass he walks to work does not have footpaths. 

A sample survey done in 19 wards of Bengaluru by Sensing Local, a Bengaluru-based sustainability initiative, found that the top problems hampering walkability were a lack of footpaths, dark zones on footpaths, and encroachments by shops, vendors, and parking.

Transformers yet to be shifted

Krishna Panyam, a Malleswaram resident who has his office near Goraguntepalya, says dangerous, uneven, and broken footpaths are a norm in the area. “It is ever more scary at night, and it is all wet and dark, muddy, and slippery,” he adds.  

“It is also a footpath where lots of people get down from the bus and walk, and there was a transformer occupying the footpath, forcing people to step on the road,” he adds.

The problem of transformers on footpaths is not new. An advocate, Geetha Misra, submitted a representation to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) explaining how a transformer positioned on the footpath caused problems such as walkability issues, storage of scrap material, and open urination.

In January 2023, while responding to a petition, BESCOM informed the high court that 1,554 transformers were either relocated from the footpaths or replaced with new spun pole structures from September 2022.

A note from BESCOM shared with DH says that the project was to convert transformer centres on footpaths and stormwater drains to Special Design Transformer Centres by erecting transformers on prefabricated structures.

The project was undertaken on an 18-month item-wise fixed-price contract. A total of 5,784 transformers located on footpaths in the Bengaluru City Area were identified as dangerous or obstructive to pedestrians and were changed to new designs. Converters on footpaths were shifted to convenient alternative positions, and those that could not be moved were changed to a new design. 

The work was undertaken in two phases. About 3,194 transformers were converted to new designs in the first phase, while 2,588 were changed in the second phase. About 2,589 transformers were shifted from footpaths until December 2023.

However, anecdotal evidence suggests that there are more transformers to be shifted from footpaths.

Hawking as an obstruction

Church Street, located at the heart of Bengaluru, has seen a new road design and improved wide footpaths. However, the residents complain about street vendors who sell food and trinkets. Sanjay Kumar, president of Church Street Residents’ Welfare Association, says the vendors are often evicted but always come back. 

“There are gas stoves and food stalls on Church Street, which are prohibited by law. We have filed a petition opposing this,” he adds.

The problem lies in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s inability to design proper hawking zones, survey the vendors and implement the Street Vendors Act. There is no clarity on when this will be done.

Whenever residents protest, the BBMP and the police evict street vendors, who return when the intensity fades. The stalemate continues.

‘A fundamental right’

In 2021, the Karnataka High Court noted a ruling that encroaching upon footpaths in any manner, including by parking vehicles, amounts to a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21.

In another case, the court asked the BBMP to clear the encroachments on footpaths in six weeks. The officials did clear some of them, but they came back soon, says a BBMP official.

“Follow-ups need to be done constantly at the ward level to keep the footpaths encroachment-free. Most of the time, ward-level staff are unable to do it,” he adds, pointing to staff shortage in the BBMP, which prevents them from undertaking regular inspections.

In 2024, the Bengaluru City Traffic Police Department registered 83,958 cases of parking on footpaths and 10,578 cases of riding on footpaths. However, these seem to have yielded no results, and parking and riding on footpaths continue wherever there is scope.

‘Footpaths deprioritised in design’

Ratnakara Reddy, an urban transportation expert based in Bengaluru, says the problem lies in the design itself.

“The Indian Road Congress guideline specifies how to design a footpath. The width of the footpath depends on how many people walk on it. Unfortunately, we design carriageways first, and then the leftover becomes a footpath. Most of the time, the roadside carries a drain and is covered by slabs, which becomes a footpath. This is absolutely wrong,” he says.

“The first mode of transport in an urban area is walking, then comes cycling. Then public transport and the last is private transport. We design private transport as the first and public transport as the last option, and footpaths are completely neglected,” he explains.

"Though we have various guidelines for maintenance, government officials and contractors very rarely seem to apply them," says Sobia Rafiq, co-founder, Sensing Local.

"Additionally, there is a need to bring in variation in the design of our footpaths based on the activity on the road. Commercial roads with less width need to become pedestrian-only streets; footpaths on roads with high traffic require guarding rails," she notes.

Pedestrians struggle to walk on footpath due to slabs broken sewage is open at Palace road opp Mahendra India Garage Vasantha nagara in Bengaluru on Friday 13th September 2024.

OFC cables dangle and vehicles occupy the footpath on Museum Road in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

For DH point blank story of Bad footpath and encroachment at Sadhashivnagar in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Pedestrians walk past bundled up optic fiber cables (OFC) occupying the footpath near Halasuru Gate Traffic Police Station Bengaluru on Sunday July 14 2024.

For DH point blank story of Bad footpath and encroachment on Dispensary road in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

For DH point blank story of Bad footpath and encroachment at MS Ramaiahnagar in Bengaluru on Wednesday.