Pedestrians Beware: Death trap ahead

The city is dotted with a number of skywalks which remain deserted most of the time, or even worse, are taken over by anti-socials. Critics argue they are poorly designed and were built mainly to cater to advertisers. On the other hand, there are many places where pedestrians have to cross the road facing grave risk. Two such notorious spots are Kengeri Metro station, and the road close to Silicon City College at KR Puram. Those frequenting these two spots on a daily basis claim there is an urgent need for a skywalk. Nischith N. reports:

Bengaluru: With traffic density on the Bengaluru city roads increasing by the day, crossing on the roads is fraught with risks for pedestrians in many parts of the city. Some of the busiest metro stations and bus stands pose this problem to pedestrians as they have to cross busy roads after alighting at their destinations.

As soon as a train or a bus arrives, there is a sudden burst of activity with passengers trying to cross the road in large numbers. This is a common sight near Kengeri Metro station, and at KR Puram on NH 75 opposite to Silicon City College.

The commuters are demanding that instead of building foot over bridges (FOB) in wrong places, they should plan a multidirectional footbridge to near metro and bus stations.

“The local corporation has come-up with FOB where it is not needed. We have found that some of the FOB in Bengaluru city, for example opposite the BWSSB central office and also one at Richmond Circle (cash pharmacy), is not used by the general public. So, that is a waste of money and also early in the morning, people of different age groups cross the road because it’s rush hour. Usually there is a BMTC bus blocking the way, forcing people to wait or take a long route to reach the metro station in Kengeri. These scenes continue through the day and it is very unsafe. So better Kengeri needs FOB as soon as possible” says Manjula, a law student and resident of Kengeri.

Skywalks or FOB and underpasses (subways) in the city are constructed and maintained by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). According to the data available by the Corporation, Bengaluru city has 39 plus skywalks across Bengaluru. It has been claimed that several of these bridges are not being used as they are badly designed. Some of the notable examples are the underpasses in KR Circle and the skywalk opposite the BWSSB office.

“It is also because of the bad maintenance by the local body. Most of the FOB have been built to cater to advertisers needs. Most of these are narrow, dark and poorly maintained. Some have been taken over by rowdies and are unsafe for women, while some have been reduced to de facto urinals. But we don’t have a proper FOB where it is needed. At KR Puram opposite to Silicon City College people are risking by crossing the road,” says Rammappa, a resident of KR Puram.

The BBMP officials, however, claim that low patronage of FOBs is because many are reluctant to climb the stairs. “When it comes to the Kengeri, the structure is ready from the Corporation and only the installation is pending. Also we are waiting for BESCOM clearance as a high-tension wire is there in close proximity. We have placed all FOBs as per the survey and demand by the public, but our people do not follow rules. They do so only if a traffic police is watching them. Most follow traffic signals only if the road is crowded or if there is police personnel or if there is a prominent CCTV camera. We plan to construct many FOBs in Bengaluru in coming days,” says Praveen, BBMP traffic cell.

To address this issue, BBMP is planning to build 20 more FOBs and skywalks on the city roads and a work order will be issued shortly. They will be built under the public private partnership.

Skywalks not built where needed: Purshotam P. Advocate and Activist

It always makes us believe that the government or its subsidiaries make plans in such a way that it becomes useless and only an exchequer caused by the taxpayers’ money.

Yes it’s about the skywalks erected in Namma Bengaluru by BBMP without proper planning because most of such skywalks are not at all used by the general public for their commutation instead some vendors and homeless people have become beneficiaries of the same.

There was a sky walker erected in Outer Ring Road and removed after a small stint. A walker placed in Mysuru Road near Byatarayanapura is not at all used and there are a number of such places where it’s useless.

Surprisingly, crowded bus stops and commutation hub Kengeri doesn’t have a skywalk. There is not even a proper pedestrian way to cross roads.

What is the method opted by our so called corporation in considering implementing something like this? Is it only the death of a