Will pedestrians finally have their footpaths?

With the civic authorities resuming the drive to clear footpaths of encroachments perhaps there is still some hope for pedestrians in Hyderabad.

With the dust settling on the election trail and elections to the State Assembly now over the city administration seems to have revived its drive to unsettle the footpath settlers in right earnest.

The Telangana Today newspaper reports that the Enforcement Vigilance and Disaster Management (EVDM) wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has resumed its drive to clear encroachments on footpaths.

The EVDM reportedly demolished 620 structures on New Year’s eve in the Amberpet and neighbouring areas covering 2.8 kilometres on six stretches. It had apparently set a target of 673 structures.  

The areas covered the Amberpet No. 6 Junction to Osmania University via Shivam stretch, the Police Lines, Amberpet to Ali Café junction and Sri Ramana theatre route, EVDM Director Viswajit Kampati.

Since the launch of the footpath drive last year beginning, the EVDM wing reportedly cleared over 12,000 footpath encroachments along the city’s road network which covers 9,100 km. 

However, in the latest drive, commercial establishments and shops seem to have been the target and pushcarts and other small traders were reportedly spared.

This is a humanitarian approach as street vendors/ hawkers/ make-shift shop owners – the Category-1 encroachers, are generally considered a menace as they are the most visible and easily targeted by local authorities hitting their livelihood and very existence.

But it is little realised that it is the Category-2 and Category-3 comprising small and large shops and residential buildings who are the bigger culprits, says Prof. B R Santh, who has researched the issue in depth. (Read “Where are our footpaths?”) The Category – 1 encroachers are a transient lot and they are virtually daily-wage earners and of meagre incomes, he adds.

But a bigger issue for the civic authorities, apart from addressing the footpath encroachments, is the rampant growth in vehicular traffic in the city which boasts of 54 lakh two and four wheelers apart from an additional five lakh from neighbouring cities and towns, that ply on its roads.

Most two-wheelers are seen to be parked on and along footpaths causing inconvenience to pedestrians.