A mysterious case of the disappearing footpath

Mysore Karnataka: 19 07 2013: Footpath vendors in Mysore are a confused lot as none of the government schemes has helped them so far. This is a scene along the Sayyajirao Road in Mysore abutting the Devaraja Market. Photo: M.A.Sriram

Will the Mysore City Corporation (MCC), after failing to comply with its countless promises on providing ‘encroachment-free’ walkway for pedestrians, finally act?

Over the years, pedestrian space has shrunk, thanks to the blanket encroachment of footpaths for illegal parking and commercial activities. This has also led to accidents as pedestrians are being forced to walk on the roads.

The ever-shrinking footpath is said to a main culprit for the rise in the number of deaths of pedestrians. With hawkers encroaching upon pavements in city centres and commercial hubs, pedestrians are risking their lives walking on the roads.

Despite repeated assurances by civic authorities and the police on clearing such encroachments, the plight of pedestrians has not altered.

Mysore City Corporation Commissioner C.G. Betsurmath told The Hindu that “steps were being worked out to clear encroachments from pavements.” If an alternative space is provided for street vendors, pavements will be free from encroachments, he opined.

Vendor policy

Mr. Betsurmath said the urban local bodies, including the MCC, have the responsibility of implementing the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, which was passed early this year.

“Once the rules for implementing the Act were framed, we can come up with plans for rehabilitating the street vendors. We hope this will address the problem of footpath encroachment,” he said.

Pedestrian deaths

With little or no space left on pavements, pedestrians are forced to walk on roads, putting their lives at risk.

Recently, the width of pavements on certain roads in the city was reduced to widen the roads. This posed a danger to pedestrians. Following public outcry, the work was suspended although the authorities claimed that only those pavements that are “less frequented” had been reduced to widen the roads.

Another key reason for encroachment of footpath is inadequate parking space. Malls, hospitals, shops and commercial establishments have converted pavements into parking lots.

To overcome the parking problem, the MCC proposed multi-storied parking lots near D. Devaraj Urs Road, KSRTC bus stand on Nilgiri Road and Sayyaji Rao Road. Till date, there has been no headway in the proposals and they remain on paper.