BENGALURU : After the recent success of their video of residents performing Bharatanatayam on the footpaths of Malleswaram, members of Malleswaram Social will undertake the second part of their #footpathbeku campaign (we want footpaths). On December 2, over 30 senior citizens are expected to gather at Malleswaram 15th cross for a short silent walk. The idea is to demonstrate the issues they face while trying to navigate uneven footpaths, which pose a threat to the elderly.
Dhanush N, one of the volunteers organising the walk, said, “We have invited senior citizens who are not necessarily part of the Malleswaram Social group to take part in a walk of about 100-150 metres. We selected the 15th cross stretch leading towards the Chitrapur Math Circle, as it is not a uniform pavement. Senior citizens prefer walking on the main road, as they cannot climb up and down repeatedly.”
During the walk, volunteers will record videos and take interviews, testimonies and feedback from the seniors, which the organisers feel will provide a platform for them to voice their opinions. With instances of elders falling down and injuring themselves, the volunteers hope that this platform will help bring about a change.
The walk will start at Canara Union with interactions and discussions with Manjunath Raju, Kadu Malleswaram corporator, who will also participate in the walk. Anushya Badrinath, director of the Bharatanatayam video, said, “For both our campaigns, the goal is the same — that is to create awareness about the state of footpaths.
It is not just to point fingers at authorities, but to see what we can do as citizens. There are a lot of home-owners who dump construction debris on sidewalks and change the level of footpaths outside their gates to make it convenient to take their cars out. We want people to stop normalising these things and actually feel the problem by taking part in the walk.”