|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IT should become mandatory for all bureaucrats, ministers and chief ministers in every state to cover by foot at least a distance of two to three km. They can begin with the state capital and choose different localities, areas, and walk without their official paraphernalia. This will make them realise how unsafe our cities have become for pedestrians. First and foremost, on many roads, sidewalks or pavements are non-existent — mostly because those who plan the cities and build roads do not walk and therefore forget the pedestrian! Even where sidewalks exist, the surfaces are uneven and worse, full of crevices and pits, either caused by digging of the pavement by the civic authorities or as a result of the pavement itself caving in due to poor construction or bad maintenance. These are all unsafe enough (particularly at night, given the poor lighting), but during the monsoon when these pits and cavities get filled with water, they become positively dangerous. Many a pedestrian has suffered serious injuries as a result. There’s also the problem of shopkeepers (near markets) and builders using public pavements to display their wares and dump construction material, respectively. It’s truly an obstacle race for the pedestrian. Many pay with their life. At a time when cities the world over are taking pride in their ‘walkability’ (I will talk about the walkability index of different cities in another column), Indian cities are becoming notorious for their unsafe sidewalks or non-existent pavements. In May this year, an official of Oil and Natural Gas Commission died of head injuries suffered after a fall into an open manhole. Anil Kumar Tayal had gone to a nearby park in Ghaziabad for a walk and had fallen into the manhole located just outside the main gate of the park. The statistics by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), show that in 2010, as many as 1,743 persons died from falling into manholes and pits all over India. This number went up to 1,847 in 2011.
There are no proper facilities for safe pedestrian crossings in cities and towns. There are hardly any underpasses or foot overbridges on busy roads – even when they are built, their design is so pedestrian unfriendly – neither those with limited mobility nor senior citizens can climb those steep steps. One can also see the low priority given to pedestrian safety in the way the traffic signals work (or not work) for pedestrians. In many cities, pedestrians have to wait for a long time for the ‘green signal’ to cross the road, and also have to run in order to cross the road before the signal changes! As per NCRB statistics, last year, out of 1,36,834 (it is 1.42 lakh according to the ministry of road transport data) people who died in road accidents in the country, 12,400 were pedestrians, constituting 9.1 per cent. But in Delhi and Bengaluru, the percentage of pedestrian deaths is far higher, with pedestrians constituting almost 50 per cent of road fatalities. In Gurgaon, absence of facilities for safe pedestrian crossings has resulted in the death of 65 pedestrians already this year (January to May). Absence of pavements alongside many roads also put the life of pedestrians at risk. As a result, a large number of pedestrians are knocked down by speeding vehicles while they are walking on the side of the street. In Delhi, 946 pedestrians died last year. Almost every second person killed in road accidents was a pedestrian, said the traffic police. There are also scores of pedestrians who are injured. Electrocution or accidental death caused by naked, loose, high tension wires left carelessly dangling by the roadside or on pavements, is another major pedestrian safety issue, particularly during the monsoon. As per NACB data, 8,945 persons in the country died of electrocution during the year.
As I said in the very beginning, things will change and pedestrian safety will get the importance that it deserves only when those who run this country experience the problems that pedestrians face daily.
|
|||
|
|
|||
Consumers beware!
