Broken footpaths in city inconvenience pedestrians

Footpaths in Mangaluru city pose a challenge for the pedestrians, with broken pavement slabs inviting danger.

Several broken cement slabs can be seen along the pavements owing to the absence of regular maintenance and repair work.

The broken slabs along the stretch have become an eyesore for the visitors.

The travails of pedestrians in Balmatta, Balmatta-Bendoorwell stretch, Jeppu-Morgans’ Gate, MG Road, KS Rao Road, Ladyhill-Mannagudde Road, PVS Circle-Bunts Hostel, near Mini Vidhana Soudha, Pumpwell have doubled with broken pavements causing inconvenience.

As the footpath is not usable, pedestrians are left to fight for space on the road itself. The situation has turned out to be a nightmare for the residents, schoolchildren and senior citizens.

Nemu Kottary, a resident of Jeppu, said the pavement slabs have collapsed near Jeppu Morgans’ Gate. There are all possibilities of pedestrians falling into the drain.

“We either have to skip over the slabs of what remains as a footpath or walk on the road. Schoolchildren who walk from the Government school, from Jyothi (Ambedkar Circle) towards Bendoorwell face inconvenience as the slabs on several locations have either been broken or been removed. There is a chance of them falling into the shoulder drains. A careless step on the pavement can land pedestrians in serious trouble,” said a shopkeeper.

Even after several years of laying concrete roads, the footpaths have not been laid on several roads in the heart of the city, leave alone arterial roads.

Safia, a lecturer said, “It is a harrowing experience to walk on the shaky and broken footpath slabs in Kankanady. The uneven slabs left me with a broken leg and I had to take a week-long rest recently. There is no footpath from Kankady Circle to Kankanady Bypass road. Either parked vehicles or petty shops have encroached the path leaving pedestrians to walk on the main road of this stretch.”

“The authorities have not replaced damaged slabs. In a few locations, waste is being dumped into open drains from these broken slabs. Proper footpaths beside roads are the right of pedestrians. Unfortunately, the footpaths have become dangerous spots,” said Sujatha, a homemaker.

Abu Muhammed Jibreel said, “I go in search of proper footpaths to allow my two-year-old son to walk on. Unfortunately, most of the roads do not have one. In spite of a few roads having footpaths, they are either damaged or encroached upon.”