BTM Layout was originally a residential locality, however, the advent of urbanisation and commercialisation, it has changed the face of the area. As you take a stroll in the 16th Main, you will realise the heavy encroachments over the footpaths in this area.
Although the locality has proper footpaths in place, most of them suffer from encroachment issues and one of the interesting encroachments that City Express reporter came across was of a tulsi sapling right in the middle of the footpath!
Jitendra who planted the sapling said, “We planted it a long time ago, even before the footpath came into being. My mother conducts regular pooja to the plant. Where else do we plant it? There is construction all over. There is no other place; hence, the plant is there.”
In a few places, the footpath is in level with the road and many use it as a parking space. “All of a sudden, pedestrians come across these places where the footpath suddenly disappears; instead there is a parking space. This forces pedestrians to walk on the narrow road,” says Ramesh Singh, a businessman.
Voicing a different concern Munni Singh, a resident says, “If you observe closely, one will witness that the houses are constructed cleverly. The boundaries of the houses start where the footpath ends.”
Area corporator GNR Babu, he said, “We have asked the BBMP engineers to clear the footpath encroachment. They have asked for a time of 10 days to clear it.” When we quizzed him further for the delay in action, he added, “We have been asking the vendors to clear it, but they have not abided by our orders. Last week, a few residents had complained and that is when we asked the BBMP to strictly clear the encroachments.”