Bengaluru’s pavements paved for disaster

 

Most of the paving tiles are either missing or haphazardly placed. Conditions get worse during rains, with the pedestrians having to pick their way through the shambles with great care. 

 

Sanjeev Anand, a visitor to Eva Mall, says, “I come to this mall often due to some engagement here. Recently when I came here, it was raining heavily and it was difficult to differentiate the pavement from the footpath and the road. And if you are not aware of where the footpath is, you are sure to have a mishap and injure yourself. The tiles are so dangerously placed!”This is not all. In one area, a particular slab is missing and when it rains the gap gets filled with water. Many pedestrians have either fallen or escaped narrowly.

 

Raju S., a shopkeeper says, “The condition of the footpaths have deteriorated in the past one year and the authorities have not bothered to fix them so far. We have seen people tripping and falling. Fortunately, until now, we have not witnessed any major incident. But I guess the authorities will wake up only when an accident takes place.”

 

According to a study by NGO Janagraha, the average walkability score of Bangalore is a poor 4.93. It has declined even further since then. Throwing light on another problem, Pawan Kumar, a shopkeeper says, “This is supposed to be part of Central Business District (CBD) and look at the poor level of maintenance by the authorities.  There is garbage on the footpaths and all sorts of encroachments, too!”