The innumerable, never-ending construction work in several parts of the City seems to have contributed to the disappearance of pedestrian paths.
This has forced people to walk on the available, sometimes broken, pavements that also have others riding on them.
The number of pedestrians dying due to dangerous driving hasn’t really declined in the City. According to statistics available with the Bangalore Traffic Police, pedestrian deaths stood at 400 in 2010 and stand at 329 as on November 30, 2011. The number of cases booked for dangerous driving last year is 34,196 as on November 30. The cases were 37,819 in 2010.
There isn’t too much of a change in the number of cases booked against dangerous driving in the City as well. Metrolife finds out whether the traffic police and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are doing enough to reduce pedestrian deaths in the City.
According to Bangalore Traffic Police, buses, lorries and cars top the list of vehicles involved in pedestrian accidents and male pedestrians are more prone to die in road mishaps. And high on the list of victims are those aged between 19 and 35 years.
People firmly believe that the ongoing developmental projects in several parts of the City and the lack of parking spaces have contributed to this. People are forced to walk on the roads and impatient riders use pedestrian paths to overtake the vehicles ahead of them.
M A Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Safety), concedes that pedestrian deaths have been increasing. He adds in the same breath that the police are doing their bit to reduce these deaths.
“We suspended about 778 licences of offenders violating traffic rules till date. We seize the licences and recommend their cancellation to the RTO. The offenders will have to re-apply for a licence,” observes Saleem.
He agrees that the ongoing construction work has caused a lot of confusion, but he says, “we have made alternative routes for people to drive and pavements have been made there as well. But we know that a lot more needs to be done to ensure the safety of pedestrians.”
M K Shankarlinge Gowda, Commissioner of BBMP, says he is yet to identify the roads where pedestrian paths need to be widened.
“The pavements on prime roads such as Brigade Road and Church Street, where a lot of people move around, are crammed. They have to be widened. However, the ongoing construction work cannot be stopped, we have to find an alternative,” he reasons.
But people observe that the infrastructure in the City is pathetic.
Disappearance of pedestrian paths is just one of the many problems Bangaloreans have to face on a daily basis.
Jaiveer Dalal, a consulting professional says, “There are no clearly defined pedestrian paths. Town planning has virtually gone haywire. If there was respect for fellow citizens, then you would never find people riding on pavements.”
Santosh Atre, a marketing consultant, wants to know with pavements occupied by vendors, cars and two-wheelers, what is left for pedestrians.
“If you walk on the pavement, you are sure to slip on a loose stone slab. With all these hurdles, people are forced to walk on roads which are unsafe,” he sums up.