‘Why can’t Bengaluru's public infrastructure be disabled-friendly?’

Access for pedestrians, especially senior citizens and persons with disabilities, is a huge issue in Bengaluru city. DH took a short trip around the city to check accessibility of public spaces and saw a lot of inconvenience caused to walkers in and around Malleswaram, Sampige Road, Majestic, Shantinagar, Yeswanthpura and more.

Interacting with a cross-section of Bengalureans, DH discovered the problem of access is manifold, affecting a whole lot of people.

In most places, people park their vehicles on the roadsides or on the footpaths, creating a big hurdle for pedestrians, mainly for the differently abled. The footpaths are not well maintained either. For instance, pedestrians walking to Garuda Mall from Brigade road can sense the gutter slab moving as they step on it.

Dilip Kumar, who has a disability while walking, says: “The public pavements, footpaths, bus stands and other infrastructure have not been designed as Persons with Disability (PWD)-friendly. Even when travelling in Metro, I feel scared as the doors of the train close very quickly, hence I have stopped travelling in Metro these days.”

Read | Public access: Mobility disabled

A resident of Vasanthapura, Dilip elaborates on his ordeal, “Now since the number of vehicles has increased, it is making pedestrian walking difficult, especially for people with disabilities like me. Two-wheelers cause the most discomfort on the roads. Not only crossing the roads but even walking beside the road has also become difficult. If someone hits us on the road, no one would be there to help. Some of my friends have experienced this.”

Pushpa Manjunath a retired Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher points to the road opposite the Mantri Square Metro Station, and shows how it is dug up making it extremely tough to walk: “As Sampige Road is one of the most crowded places, footpaths here should be cleaner and user-friendly. People need to run to cross the road due to the lack of skywalks.”

An 83-year-old senior citizen, preferring anonymity, has this to say: “Roads have been blocked outside Mantri Mall as a bridge construction work is going on. There is no footpath now as a barricade has been placed over there, making pedestrians step down to the road.”

He continues, “One day, a two-wheeler almost hit me and vanished. Most of the two-wheeler riders are rash, they don’t care about old people walking. People should raise their voice against this and bring this to the attention of the authorities.”

Babu, a shopkeeper, says, “In Someshwara Nagar in Jayanagar 1st block, the entire area has narrow roads and there are no footpaths. Even on Ibrahim Street, the backside of Commercial street, there are no footpaths. This causes heavy congestion of crowds and vehicles on the main road. Once my vehicle met with an accident on that street.”

HR professional Divya draws attention to another problem: “Water clogging after rains makes footpaths inaccessible. Senior citizens find it challenging to walk on uneven footpaths. And some of the footpaths are occupied by vendors.”

Malleswaram and Gandhi Bazar streets are good examples. “They are famous shopping spots, but the entire footpath is encroached. Pedestrians have to depend on the main roads for walk. Sometimes it gets really dangerous to walk on the roads and cross during peak traffic. At the signals, vehicles are parked beyond the zebra crossing. It gets very difficult to cross within the limited signal time,” Divya points out.