Are footpaths becoming irrelevant?

Issue seems to be debatable one

Jalandhar, October 8, 2012: Are footpaths are becoming irrelevant in this city.

A few city residents believe so. They admit that footpaths are constructed to facilitate pedestrians on the road. But, they say that the time has come when the footpaths are used more by the roadside vendors instead by pedestrians.

Further, they said that each footpath is almost 3 ft to 5 ft wide. They say that several congested roads will get widen if these footpaths are removed. As a result, movement of the vehicles will get smooth, they further believe.

Diwan Chand Mohindru, a lawyer by profession, has urged the Punjab Local Bodies Minister Bhagat Chuni Lal and Jalandhar’s Municipal Commissioner to constitute a committee to discuss and take a decision in this regard.

BJP senior leader and the party’s district vice president Satish Kapur has said the footpaths were losing relevance in the present scenario. He said the need of footpaths was getting declined day by day.

Another BJP senior leader Vipan Sharma has demanded demolition of footpaths to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic on the roads. He told that he rarely witnessed pedestrians using footpaths these days.

Hind Sewa Samiti (Rashtriya), an NGO, president Sunil Sharma said the footpaths were merely seen occupied by small vendors. He too said the roads should be widened for smooth traffic after removing footpaths.

Really, the issue seems to be debatable one. Therefore, the authorities concerned must convene a meeting of all concerned and representatives from the public be called. A final decision in this regard should be taken after considering all pros and cons. A high-level committee may be constituted to find out real usage of footpaths by pedestrians.