Footpaths for Pedestrians: Will these hurdles be cleared?
KARIMNAGAR, JUNE 29, 2023: Even as the Karimnagar Town is growing in leaps and bounds, the roads are shrinking and becoming narrow due to the reconstruction of existing roads in the name of Smart City and above all the officials are making the roads a safe haven for encroachments of footpaths and cause serious traffic snarls.
Illegal occupation of roads and footpaths had become order of the day causing umpteen woes to the road users including the pedestrians. In January 2022, when four women were killed and three others sustained injuries when a car rammed into the pavement in Kothirampur locality in Karimnagar, the district administration had raised to the occasion following the instructions of Minister for Civil Supplies Gangula Kamalakar. They had constituted a committee headed by Additional Collector Garima Agarwal to remove all illegal encroachments of the roads, pavements, footpaths in the town.
Surprisingly, Collector RV Karnan, then Commissioner of Police V Satyanarayana, Municipal Commissioner Seva Islavath, Traffic police, Revenue and other officials was literally on the roads removing the encroachments by launching special drive. They also warned the road side vendors, traders and others to vacate the place and warned of serious penal action for encroachment of roads.
It again remained a meager eye-wash. There is no change in the attitude of encroachers of footpaths and pavements. Instead, they had come back with more vigor and literally converted the footpaths as their displaying their products by encroaching and denying the pedestrians to walk on the footpaths. Similarly, the fruit and vegetable vendors are also doing the same and occupying the roads and causing traffic woes.
Though, the MCK authorities had constructed mini markets in various parts of the town, but they had not relocated the roadside vendors. The spacious Rythu bazaar constructed at Gandhi road also remains idle and the vendors encroach the roads and sell their products. The footpaths are hardly seen at Collectorate camp office, Sashtri road, Annapurna complex, Madina complex, Police headquarters shopping complex and other parts of the town.
The Traffic police instead of regulating the vehicular movement by removing the encroachments on the roads only focus on taking pictures of the vehicle-owners not wearing the helmets. Incidentally, the Traffic police show negligent attitude towards removal of illegal auto-stands and parking of vehicles at free left-turn at junctions which were the main obstacles in the town.
Major traffic snarls in Karimnagar town at RTC bus station complex, Police headquarters, DCCB bank, Bhagathnagar cross roads, Collectorate road, Seven Hills lodge road, Doctors street, Christian colony, Mancherial cross roads, Gandhi road, Tower circle, Ramnagar and more….
