BENGALURU
What should have been a walkway for pedestrians has become a garbage-strewn stretch along Tavarekere Main Road near Koramangala for the last few years. For nearly a kilometre, footpaths lie buried under heaps of food waste and discarded materials dumped by roadside vendors, forcing residents, especially the elderly and children, to walk on the busy road risking their lives.The stench is unbearable, according to nearby residents. Despite periodic clean-ups by Bengaluru South city corporation personnel, the relief never lasts beyond a couple of days. Vendors and waste return almost immediately, leaving the footpaths unusable and creating a breeding ground for rats, flies, and mosquitoes. Residents complain pests now enter their homes, while broken footpath slabs and speeding vehicles further endanger pedestrians.
In September, residents wrote to civic officials, highlighting the worsening situation. They urged the authorities to conduct regular footpath audits, enforce anti-encroachment measures, and implement sustained monitoring to ensure pedestrian safety. With the rapid growth of paying guest accommodations and food stalls catering to students, the stretch has turned chaotic, residents said.
Frustrated locals, who have repeatedly cleaned the area themselves, now want a lasting solution. Every inch is encroached by vendors who set up stalls after a temple came up here, said Nileshwar, a 72-year-old resident who has lived in the area for 15 years. Domestic workers have fallen and injured themselves. We’ve written several times to GBA and traffic police, but unless there’s continuous monitoring, the Supreme Court’s guidelines on keeping footpaths free will remain only on paper.
What’s that Awful Smell?
Lata Sri Koramangala cluster president of the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation, said, “We’ve asked our housing staff to clean outside our walls because of the unbearable smell. Vendors and eateries dump waste that attracts flies and rodents. The slabs are broken, and vendors occupy what’s left, forcing people to walk on the road.”
