Subways in Bangalore have neither received the requisite attention of the municipal authority nor from pedestrians. If the former has constructed them more for publicity, as is apparent, the latter stay clear of them given the stench. In a way, subways are a drain on the exchequer.
It is advisable to take a deep breath before stepping inside the subway on Nrupatunga Road. It is dingy. Garbage is all over the place. Essentially, it does not feel like a pedestrian subway and rather more like a dark tunnel with light streaming in only from the other end.
There have been complaints galore about the state of pedestrian subways, but clearly little has been done to prompt people to use them. No wonder pedestrians would rather take the risk of darting across roads rather than use subways irrespective of the fact that the density of motor vehicles on the city’s road is very high.
The subway on Nrupatunga Road is not an isolated case. Several other subways too present a dismal picture. While some pedestrians prefer to cross the roads as it takes lesser time, there is no denying that the poor condition of subways is another deterrent, especially to women since they are badly lit. There are several instances in the city of subways being unused. For example, take the ones near K.R. Circle, Raj Bhavan and on Hosur Road.
There are also instances of subways remaining shut. An example of this is the one near M.S. Building (Ambedkar Veedi), which is locked on both sides. Passersby and hawkers nearby claim that it has remained shut for over a year and that the interior is filled with sewage, resulting in a foul stench. It has been rendered unusable. Another subway near Raj Bhavan is partially closed with one end being locked.
The few subways which are actually being used, though, have turned out to be a haunt of hawkers. Take the subway in the busy Majestic area. However, pedestrians there do not complain. Instead, they appear to be happy to do a spot of shopping along the way since this subway is broad.
A look at the state of these subways raises the question as to whether the construction of these passages are of any real value to pedestrians or if they are just another obstruction on the roadside.
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