Residents start using incomplete skywalk

Fed up with BBMP’s delays, residents of Bellandur have decided to start using an incomplete skywalk that was built 10 months ago.

They even named the skywalk on the busy outer ring road after 19-year-old accident victim Sanjay Giri whose death in 2017 prompted resident welfare associations (RWAs) of Bellandur to demand that Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) build the skywalk.

The skywalk is situated between Acme Harmony Apartments and Cloudnine Hospital.

Though the skywalk is only partially complete, residents are happy that their efforts have borne fruit and they are at least able to use it. They are running a selfie campaign where every citizen of Bellandur is posting a selfie with the skywalk on their Twitter page ‘Bellandur Jothege’.

Citizen activism

“The skywalk is ready for use although lifts need to be installed. The skywalk is a symbol of effective citizen activism,” said Vijaya Bhat, a member of Bellandur Jothege, Bellandur’s citizens action group.

Bellandur corporator Asha Suresh said that it will take a few more days to instal the lifts. “The structure is in place, which the pedestrians are already using. We are doing the lift shaft now. We will finish it soon,” she said.

The residents also said that three more skywalks are pending in the Bellandur ward, including one near the Springfield Apartment on Sarjapur Road, one at Central Mall on the Outer Ring Road, Bellandur and another at Kadubeesanahalli near the JP Morgan junction.

Bellandur Walks

Last year, the RWAs under the banner of ‘Bellandur Jothege’ conceived and participated in the city’s first community-sourced pedestrianisation programme called ‘Bellandur Walks’.

Developing better footpaths, adding skywalks and pelican signals were some of the goals of this initiative.