While the GHMC is getting battered and bruised for poor maintenance and absence of footpaths, a silver lining is that it has taken up measures to improve them in select stretches.
In association with a voluntary organisation like Vaada Foundation, it has taken up a few initiatives like construction of “refugee points” at the end of road medians at over 50 junctions. Spread over a space of about three metres in length, these refugee points provide space for pedestrians to wait at junctions while crossing roads.
At high-traffic stretches, these points would be constructed between the road medians to facilitate convenient crossing for pedestrians, says Suresh Raju, founder president, Vaada Foundation, pointing to such a facility at a median end on the busy Jubilee Hills Checkpost.
GHMC has constructed these refugee points at different locations such as Mehdipatnam, Secunderabad, Banjara Hills and other areas. There are over 221 junctions in the capital and the plan is to construct them at 100 junctions in the coming days, he says.
The corporation is also working on introducing Pelican crossing and table-top Zebra crossings facility at designated sites near hospitals and schools.
The Pelican crossing system, being developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), will have cameras to capture images of violators at signals, enabling authorities to take action. It would have sensors to count pedestrians volume and their waiting time at the junctions or roads.
Table-top Zebra crossings, which are generally three metres wide and four inches in height, would be constructed with ramps on either sides facilitating smooth passage for vehicles.
As a pilot project, these two facilities would be coming up at Care Hospital in Banjara Hills and a demonstration would be conducted soon, adds Mr. Raju.
