Bengaluru: In Doddabommasandra, footpath is a luxury

BENGALURU: The guidelines laid down by the Indian Road Congress clearly says it is imperative to have footpaths with a height of 150 mm on each side and the design should be such that it leaves sufficient space for vending outside the pedestrian zone.

In Doddabommasandra, Vidyaranyapura, the pedestrians have a tough time walking down the narrow stretch of road.

The drains are barely covered by cemented blocks and they are either encroached by hawkers or have turned out to be a garbage dumping spots.
On finding no constructive steps being taken by the civic organisations, the residents even wrote the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“Doddabommasandra Main Road is a busy road where heavy vehicles run and are the only connectivity to Vidyaranyapura. We have approached BBMP Commissioner and escalated the matter with the Mayor as well as the Joint Commissioner of the BBMP, but nothing happened,” said Sunil Yadav, secretary, Citizens Action Forum Welfare Association (CAFWA).

The members of CAFWA even approached the Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, but despite getting elected twice from Byatarayanapura constituency, no concrete steps have ever been taken to resolve the issues concerning the residents.

The issue of garbage too remains unaddressed. Despite BBMP putting a blanket ban on garbage dumping, several areas still witness the blatant abuse of BBMP guidelines and the administration being a mute spectator.

Unnikrishnan, a resident of Doddabommasandra for the past 19 years, narrated the sorry plight of the residents due to administrative apathy. He told Deccan Chronicle, “The roads are only 4-5 feet wide and it needs widening. The motorists find it difficult to navigate. No instruction has, however, been given to the BBMP to carry out the developmental works.”

Due to lack of street lights in certain parts of the locality it has become dangerous for the residents to step out of the house and some cases of robbery have also been reported. The long pending issue of the installation of CCTV cameras has also been ignored. One of the residents who also happen to be a social activist, Ramachandra Raju has been tirelessly fighting to get the attention of the civic authorities about the poor condition of the area but nothing has happened.

“There are two blind curves in the long stretch of road (Vyas international school-Doddabommasandra) and it has often led to accidents. The footpaths are not covered at some places and it can also lead to injuries to pedestrians,” Raju added.