footpaths in bangalore

For the past three years, Seema, a 35-year-old healthy woman has been running all outdoor errands for her family. She lives with her six-year-old son, her 42-year-old wheelchair-ridden husband, and a 70-year-old mother-in-law in a humble middle-income household. After her husband met with a road accident and lost his ability to walk, the family has been increasingly cautious about their outdoor activities.  Seema’s aged mother-in-law and disabled husband almost never leave the house unless a special van is rented. Seema always walks her son to and from the school bus, and at no time is he allowed to walk by…

The majority of road accident victims in Bengaluru are pedestrians. An analysis of road crash deaths in 2017 by the NGO Footpath Initiative showed that 44% of the victims were pedestrians. As per their data, between 2010 and 2018, over 3000 pedestrians have been killed in traffic crashes in the city, and four times as many have been injured. Given the poor state of pedestrian infrastructure like footpaths, it isn't surprising that pedestrian deaths are so high. Anusha Chutturi of Footpath Initiative said their data showed that areas with better footpaths had fewer pedestrian accidents. She said, "The areas around…

I have this thing for pavements. Actually, I have a thing for many things, but the current thing is pavements. Let me tell you, this was not something I took to in a rush. It took many months for me to get warmed up. You see, I walk back and forth between my home and my office. Walking on Indian roads needs complete alertness, and in that hyper-attentive state, I started noticing things. Don’t ask me why, but I latched on to pavements and before long, I was quite an expert on the matter. I don’t do things by half…

Which street in Bengaluru do you like the most? Does the street that you like the most have all the facilities that make it better than the rest? Well, the latest Street Quality Score by Janaagraha has come out with the top four and bottom four streets in Bengaluru which is the result of a survey conducted in the last three months. The survey has measured the quality of roads in Bengaluru based on five criteria namely, walkable footpaths, pedestrian crossing, street lighting, bus stops and air pollution. The report has picked up following four roads of being better off…

Anything in plenty loses its value. Anything–even human life! That’s why when we read of treacherous genocide of thousands of innocent people somewhere away from our vicinity, the intensity of the sorrow that we feel is short-lived—we are able to carry on with our lives quite normally. We know, as individuals we can do jolly little to change anything on this planet.  Is that wholly true? I went to Calgary in Canada recently to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law. The wonderful roads, neat and even footpaths and walking trails and the marvelous traffic sense of the drivers of…