CS urged to have footpaths built in Bengaluru city, save lives of pedestrians

Bengaluru: As Bengaluru's footpaths have been the forgotten aspect of the road infrastructure and as many as 270 lives have been lost over the past two years due to the absence of pedestrian pathways, activists including members of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), submitted a memorandum to Karnataka Chief Secretary Ravi Kumar on Thursday, urging him to address the issue. About 90 citizens including students who organised a 1.6 km 'loop walk' from Seshadripuram Evening Degree College through the Seshadripuram Main Road and back on Saturday, could barely spot a footpath.

Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) members, including Tara Krishnaswamy, Umesh Babu, Sreenivasa Road and Chitra Venkatesh of Kumara Park RWA submitted citizens demands for a systemic approach to the chronic and pervasive woes in Bengaluru.

According to the reports, the letter requested the Chief Secretary's Office, to appoint zonal pedestrian safety special commissioners for each of the eight zones (currently) and one city-level commissioner for pedestrian safety. They also demanded mandatory monthly co-ordination meetings led by these commissioners between BBMP/BWSSB/BESCOM/Smart City/UDD/DULT and Traffic Police.

According to reports, Bengaluru's total road network, including major, arterial, sub-arterial and ward roads, is estimated to be more than 13,000 kilometres. But only half of them have footpaths of varied qualities. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data puts Bengaluru on top of the list of 89 cities for pedestrian deaths (272) in 2019, whereas, in the previous year, the city stood second with 276 fatalities.

Activists complain that main roads in residential areas have already turned into sub-arterial roads over the years due to swelling vehicle density. They accuse officials of losing touch with ground reality.