Pavements not for pedestrians?

Pavements not for pedestrians?

Staff Reporter

Property owner blocks pavement and cordons off part of Chord Road

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

LANDGRAB: Pavement on Chord Road in front of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd., in Bangalore, cordoned off by a builder.

Bangalore: Here is one more to add to the list of pedestrians’ problems in the city.

On Chord Road, in front of the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd., a commercial complex being built by a private company has blocked a 33-metre stretch of the pavement.

By erecting six or eight silpaulin sheets right till the pavement’s edge, the company has created a separate enclosure at the cost of pavement space.

Not only has the pavement been cut off for pedestrians, about two metres of the road has been cordoned off by the company which has put up temporary barricades.

Pedestrians have to step down and walk on the road. Even the movement of vehicles too has been affected as part of the road has been occupied by the barricades.

When asked, a few people present at the site said that they had “taken permission” from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to use the pavement. “We have not received any complaints about discomfort faced by pedestrians or traffic,” said one of them.

However, senior officials of the BBMP said they were informed of the situation a day ago and an engineer had been asked to conduct an enquiry into the matter.

“In a day or two we will know the details concerning this encroachment,” an officer said.

Another official said: “Using the pavement and road for private construction cannot be legal.”