Hawkers occupy footpaths in Vijayawada
Even on Bandar Road, the footpaths have been encroached and illegal parking makes it difficult for the pedestrians to use them.
VIJAYAWADA: Footpaths seem to be nonexistent in Vijayawada. Except one or two roads like Bandar Road there are no footpaths for the pedestrians. Even on Bandar Road, the footpaths have been encroached and illegal parking makes it difficult for the pedestrians to use them.
The most ironic part is that the pedestrian crossings were all blocked by the barricades at the junctions. The traffic police are implementing the loop system instead of signals by closing the junctions with barricades. They have closed the junctions completely without leaving any free pass for the pedestrians to cross.
NH-16, which passes through the city by intersecting it into two from Benz Circle to Ramavara-ppadu, has many junctions in the middle. Though service roads are there on both sides of the highway it has become a troublesome affair at the junctions to cross the road. At the junctions on the National Highway, the traffic police has blocked the free pass on service roads to avoid congestion. This comes as a big blow to the pedestrians to even access the road.
The social workers are expressing anger over the lack of basic facilities to the pedestrians in the state capital. Tax-Payer’s Association general secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu said the government is claiming every other day that the capital is being built with international standards, but we do not even have pavements for the pedestrians in Vijayawada city.
The government is not for the common man, said social worker Anumolu Gandhi. They are only concerned about the rich and developing roads but what about the pedestrians, he asked. Krish-nalanka people are facing problems to even access the main road, he said.