Days after the pitiable condition of the footpaths along the HAL Old Airport road was brought to light by DH, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has begun the preliminary work to remove the cables that were blocking the pedestrians’ space.

The cable wires jutting out on the sidewalks were cleared, but the rest of the work hangs in the air. The footpaths still have gaping holes in places where slabs are missing. Vendors too, have encroached upon sidewalks in some areas.

Several rolls of cables that blocked the footpaths near Manipal Hospital have now been removed. “I can still see some cables in some stretches of the footpath. The BBMP has not completed the work,” said Nirmala Subramanian, one of the senior citizens residing near Manipal hospital.

Some residents expressed their despair over the condition of the sidewalks in the area, as they have been unattended for many years now. “I do not know how many days the BBMP needs to carry out the repair work. Nobody cares about the problems faced by the pedestrians,” said Akshay, a resident. Shivanna, a regular visitor to the Manipal Hospital, said he was glad that the work has begun to restore the footpath.  BBMP officials, however, cited lack of funds and said the work on footpaths may not take off.  “We had removed the encroachments some months ago in the entire Mahadevapura zone. But, some might have reappeared now. We will take action against repeat offenders. We need funds for the repair work,” a BBMP official told DH.