Karnataka HC concern over vehicles taking up footpath space

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday raised concerns regarding encroachment of footpaths by vehicles in Bengaluru.

A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice PS Dinesh Kumar asked Advocate General (AG) Shashikiran Shetty to make submissions on various issues related to vehicles encroaching upon footpaths at the next hearing.

During the hearing, the bench referred to a submission that counsels faced delays in reaching the court due to traffic congestion. The bench orally observed that footpaths in the city have been turned into parking lots, posing inconvenience to the citizens who want to use the footpaths for walking.

"It has to be solved for the good of Bengaluru. You go to any road, people park vehicles left, right and centre. Even junk vehicles are not taken away. Walking on the footpath has become a problem. If something can be done with your intervention, it will be good for Bengaluru city,” the bench told the AG.

Interestingly, a petition, referred as a PIL, was before the bench regarding footpaths with handrails in Thyagaraja Nagar 1st Block. The court has posted the matter to Thursday.