<p>The swanky and stylish skywalk overlooking Kempe Gowda Road, which was inaugurated by the Mayor on Wednesday, has pleasing aesthetics and state-of- the-art security. <br /><br /></p>.<p>However, the question is whether this one and the 99 others - costing a whopping Rs 1.5 crore each - serve their purpose.<br /><br />A reality check by Deccan Herald showed that the lift, which is the highlight of this new series of skywalks, is still not open to public. According to the staff present there, the BBMP engineer-in-charge has not certified it “ready”. This has led the public to believe that the lifts are only for the disabled. <br /><br />Padma, a pedestrian who was found waiting for over 15 minutes to cross the road, said: “I am used to crossing the road in this manner, so there is no need for me to waste my time climbing so many stairs.” <br /><br />The fact that the skywalk is fully enclosed makes commuters feel unsafe. Suni, a pedestrian who was found waiting with her husband for a full 10 minutes to cross the road, said: “What if someone snatches my jewellery in the closed space?” <br />But, the Palike has already taken this problem into consideration. <br /><br />The skywalk has 24/7 surveillance thanks to the presence of six webcams - two on the skywalk’s enclosed passage, two on the stairways and two in the lifts, each of which will has a 60-day storage capacity accessible to the Palike and the police. <br /><br />Whether equipping existing skywalks with lifts will improve their utility is still open to question. Most skywalks --the locations of which were apparently not well thought out -- are currently grossly underutilised, such as the one on Indiranagar 100 ft road. Said Melanie, a pedestrian in Indiranagar: “Climbing all those stairs is very inconvenient and cumbersome. Most of the time, the traffic is pretty sparse. So, it is easier to run across the road.”<br /><br />Proposed sites<br /><br />* Mekhri Circle<br />* Maharani College (Palace Road)<br />* Marathalli<br />* Embassy Golf Links <br />* Christ University<br />* Forum Mall</p>
<p>The swanky and stylish skywalk overlooking Kempe Gowda Road, which was inaugurated by the Mayor on Wednesday, has pleasing aesthetics and state-of- the-art security. <br /><br /></p>.<p>However, the question is whether this one and the 99 others - costing a whopping Rs 1.5 crore each - serve their purpose.<br /><br />A reality check by Deccan Herald showed that the lift, which is the highlight of this new series of skywalks, is still not open to public. According to the staff present there, the BBMP engineer-in-charge has not certified it “ready”. This has led the public to believe that the lifts are only for the disabled. <br /><br />Padma, a pedestrian who was found waiting for over 15 minutes to cross the road, said: “I am used to crossing the road in this manner, so there is no need for me to waste my time climbing so many stairs.” <br /><br />The fact that the skywalk is fully enclosed makes commuters feel unsafe. Suni, a pedestrian who was found waiting with her husband for a full 10 minutes to cross the road, said: “What if someone snatches my jewellery in the closed space?” <br />But, the Palike has already taken this problem into consideration. <br /><br />The skywalk has 24/7 surveillance thanks to the presence of six webcams - two on the skywalk’s enclosed passage, two on the stairways and two in the lifts, each of which will has a 60-day storage capacity accessible to the Palike and the police. <br /><br />Whether equipping existing skywalks with lifts will improve their utility is still open to question. Most skywalks --the locations of which were apparently not well thought out -- are currently grossly underutilised, such as the one on Indiranagar 100 ft road. Said Melanie, a pedestrian in Indiranagar: “Climbing all those stairs is very inconvenient and cumbersome. Most of the time, the traffic is pretty sparse. So, it is easier to run across the road.”<br /><br />Proposed sites<br /><br />* Mekhri Circle<br />* Maharani College (Palace Road)<br />* Marathalli<br />* Embassy Golf Links <br />* Christ University<br />* Forum Mall</p>
