In an earlier post I dealt with the “Pitiable Plight of Poor Pedestrians”  as prevalent in India in general. (https://www.boloji.com/blog/1649/pitiable-plight-of-poor-pedestrians).

As I stay in Hyderabad, I am more aware of the local problems and hardships faced by the pedestrians. This is the first of the several posts focusing on Hyderabad.

The biggest problem in Hyderabad is an almost complete absence of useable footpaths or pavements.  In most of the roads there are no earmarked footpaths. There are a few roads which do contain footpaths. But without exception such pavements are not pedestrian-friendly. Every day I drive about 30 kilometres from home to workplace each way and pass through the heart of the city. A few of the roads do have pavements.  But it is hard to find even a fifty metre stretch of pavements which are clear and usable. Something or the other forces the walker to step down to the main part of the road and climb back after the obstruction is cleared. This indeed is a great pain.

The following four pictures are typical of such hurdles which come in the way of the pedestrians.









As can be seen, other constructions, encroachments and use for dumping junk are orders of the day.
The above is one side of the story.  As I said earlier, most of the roads, particularly in residential localities are not wide enough to accommodate pavements. The following two pictures epitomize the prevailing situations.





In Hyderabad, population is increasing at a rapid rate. The number of vehicles on road is also increasing. Added to these, there is apathy and lack of concern (inability to “feel the PAIN”) on the part of administrators.

What does the future hold for the pedestrians?