Narrow footpaths mark the New Thippasandra Main Road which is already plagued by problems because of the one-way road and haphazard parking. Hawkers as well as flower and vegetable vendors are occupying the footpath thus forcing pedestrians to walk on the road. Since there are two and four wheeler parking on one side of the road, the pedestrians don’t have that choice either.
Nagendra, owner of a plywood shop, complains that the parking on the main road is a nuisance. He adds, “To make things worse, the vendors and hawkers encroach the footpath and also put their products on display here. This makes it extremely dangerous for the people walking on the footpath. Where will the poor pedestrians walk?”
Despite parking lots being allotted, many park their two wheelers on the footpath.
Rishika M, who resides nearby says, “It’s a horror if you are trying to tread these footpaths. Firstly, they are narrow and wherever there is space you have hawkers selling their products. At some places you have construction material dumped on the footpath.”
When City Express contacted New Thippasandra ward corporator Sumitra Vijay, she said, “What can be done about the narrow footpaths? And every time we ask the vendors to shift to another location, they come back to the same place. Unless we provide them with an alternative, they say that they won’t be in a position to shift. They ask us that where do they go from here and we don’t know what to answer them.” When asked if this stretch will be included in the model road project, the corporator gave the standard reply, “Yes. We have submitted a proposal to the Major Road Department and are waiting for the approval.”