The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday ordered issue of notices to the State government and various civic authorities on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking direction to ensure safety of pedestrians in Bangalore city.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice B.V. Nagarathna passed the order on the petition filed by Jennifer Pinto and Priya Rao.
The petitioners sought directions to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the city police to remove all advertisement hoardings and obstructions on all footpaths and medians in the city to ensure safety of pedestrians.
They also sought directions to various authorities to jointly maintain the footpaths on all roads in the city by providing access for prams, wheelchairs and safe crossing zones/zebra crossing at regular intervals with suitable escorts for persons with disabilities, children and senior citizens.
The petitioners also pleaded to the court to direct the authorities to ensure that adequate pedestrian facilities are provided as per Indian Road Congress standard prior to building new roads as such considerations have been overlooked in the construction of flyovers expressways, underpasses, metro project and so on.
“The State has deprived people of their freedom of movement, forcing them to use motor vehicles. The cluttering of the medians with advertisements so also that of pedestrian zones is taking away scarce resources, causing hardship to the pedestrians,” the petition said.
