The good news is that pavements are returning to the city after the Corporation famously dragged its feet over the implementation on a war footing basis before the Municipal elections in the satellite city. The question is how long will these walkways last? Number of the interlinking stones have given way or broken or in some cases it has gone down causing a fear among the pedestrians. Pavement reclamation is the need of the hour as senior citizens and school going children may meet with accident while walking on the streets. To a casual stroller it all looks fine. But as always it is in the details that plenty can happen to trip the Corporation up. True, it has evicted all the hawkers from the area, or, at least, that is what it claims. Also, if the popular perception is that the hawkers are responsible for the mess, here is another thought coming. The Corporation has now promised that it will tighten up rules for licences to these restaurants and other encroachers. The civic body needs to take all stakeholders into consultation, declare its intentions and debate solutions. It also needs to provide answers to the problems of all. While the interests of the pedestrian and general safety are of paramount importance, others cannot be neglected, particularly after they have been allowed to get away scot free for years without any regulation. Unless this happens, such pavements may look good only on paper but eventually degenerate into the chaos that now prevails.
Jayanthy Subbu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
