Police zero in on jaywalkers

Plans to penalise violators on TenderSure roads.

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Citizens and activists in Bengaluru are up in arms over the drive taken up by the Bengaluru Traffic Police to penalise jaywalkers. The pedestrians point out that they have no option but to walk on busy roads as the pavements at most places is in a pathetic state.

Residents in Indiranagar, Banashankari, Bellandur, Sarjapur, Kasavanahalli, and Yelahanka to name a few say that repeated complaints to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to repair the condition of the pavements, have gone unattended. In many places they have been encroached upon by vendors or are uneven and broken, they said.

Nithin M, a citizen activist from Sarjapur told News Trail that Pedestrians cannot be completely blamed till there is enough infrastructure provided. “Apathy from the officials and lack of coordination between agencies are the biggest problem,” he said.

About penalising jaywalkers, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda said, “An analysis of pedestrian accidents conducted by the traffic police revealed that over 70% of them happened while crossing the roads.”

The police said that they are planning on cracking down in areas where pedestrian crossings are in place after the completion of the TenderSURE project.

Earlier this week, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy had visited five wards including Varthur and Sanjaynagar, in North Bengaluru, to check the condition of pedestrian walkways and found them in abysmal condition.

The report was later shared with the Bengaluru Traffic department following which Gowda chaired a meeting with the BBMP officials discussing the existing situation of skywalks and underpasses.

“Bengaluru Traffic department has submitted a proposal to assemble high-rise pedestrian crossings throughout the city. The officials prepared a list of 240 locations where the crossings can be built out of which the BBMP has agreed to construct 50 on a priority basis,” Gowda said.

“We want to bring in road discipline, reduce accidents, ensure smooth traffic flow and ensure those following traffic rules are not in danger. We feel happy when violations decrease. The public should not have the impression that we only collect fines,” he added.

Meanwhile, a report from BTP shows a total of 598 pedestrian deaths occurred due to road accidents in the last three years. 278 pedestrians died in 2019 alone. However during 2020 and 2021, the number of deaths dropped to 64 and 161 as the movement was restricted due to pandemic-induced lockdowns.