Footpath woes leave pedestrians on road

open traps

The garbage scene in the City is deplorable. What’s appalling is the trash strewn on pavements. With garbage bins virtually missing, some people think it is their right to dump garbage on pavements and in the gaps, thanks to missing slabs on foot paths.

 This makes it impossible for pedestrians to walk on pavements. 

Bangaloreans lament the sad state of the pavements in the City. “Some people consider pavements as an easy option for garbage disposal. The pedestrian paths in the City, especially in places around Lalbagh, near Malleswaram bridge, near Milk Colony, Rajajinagar, Malleswaram Circle bus stand, Central Silk Board have become garbage homes,” states Sukruth MS, a professional.

He points out that once a small pile of rubbish accumulates on a pavement, it attracts more garbage, which in turn blocks the pedestrian path. “Around the City Market, the garbage on pavement has gone out of control. The sad part is even though the market is cleaned on a regular basis, there is often garbage on the pavements,” he says. 

Others like Shantha Kumar, a software engineer, point out that pedestrian paths in crowded areas have become garbage dumps. “In places like railway stations, especially the Bangalore City Railway Station, I have never seen the pavements clean. People of all age groups travel on trains and there’s every possibility of someone slipping,” he says.

It is not just the markets or the commercial areas that are laden with garbage, even the roads in the Central Business District areas, reflect a similar sight. “Even MG Road where there is huge footfall has pavements dug up and not replaced properly. One of my friends slipped into a gap between pavements and had a fracture,” says Sharmista BS, a professional. 

Some people blame the shoddy job by rag pickers for waste on pavements but Kabir Khan, Convenor, Alliance of Indian Waste Pickers, reasons why one can’t totally blame the rag pickers. He says that he has noticed the pouraka­rmikas aren’t well paid and are overworked. 

   “The ratio of pourakarmikas to the population of Bangalore is low. If a pavement is in front of a shop, the condition is often bad. On roads like the New BEL Road, a lot of waste is dumped on the road though the pavement is well done,” says Kabir. 

He states that sadly people have moved on from simply dumping waste on the pavement to packing it wellin a cover and then leaving it there.

Loose and sliding slabs are another concern. Suma Balakrishnan, a homemaker from Arekkere Gate on Bannerghatta Road says that the pavements in front of her apartment have missing slabs. “The pavements are clogged with garbage and one can see rodents and snakes through the missing slabs, which is scary,” she says. Suma adds that coconut sellers and other vendors add to the garbage scenario but nothing is being done by the authorities to better the situation.

Ask the authorities about the condition of the pedestrians path and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) says that they have completed the asphalting and are currently working on 300 km of roads across the City. They are planning to take up the next 300 km for 2014-15. M Lakshminarayana, Commissioner, BBMP says that whichever roads have been and will be tackled with will be completed which includes the footpath, curb stones, storm water drains and more. 

“There are many roads under the Tender SURE project, which include roads like Church Street, Residency Road that will be redone,” says Lakshminarayana. He also says that the poura­karmikas have been instructed to clear the garbage everywhere and their efficiency in the execution of the same will be kept an eye on.