Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court of India has asked the state governments, including Assam, to frame their respective road safety rules and submit them to the court within six months. The apex court has laid special thrust on safe and encroachment-free footpaths to ensure the safe movement of pedestrians.
Hearing a PIL, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan asked the authorities concerned to start the audit of existing footpaths in cities, especially in crowded areas like marketplaces, railway stations, religious institutions, educational institutions, etc. The court also asked the governments and municipal authorities to identify the deficiencies in the existing footpaths and take remedial measures.
The court also asked the governments to take action against wrongful lane-driving, unsafe overtaking, use of dazzling LED headlights, etc.
A city like Guwahati in Assam has no footpath that is safe for pedestrians. Encroachments by vegetable vendors, pan-tamul sellers, tea stalls, and whatnot are the common scene. Manholes that are very common in the footpaths in Guwahati pose a serious threat to pedestrians. Apart from these, most of the footpaths in Guwahati are unscientific in their designs and architecture. It happens as the people constructing such footpaths are masons and other manual workers in the absence of engineers who can advise on technical and other tips. Often there are faulty and incomplete construction works on many footpaths in Guwahati.
The encroachment of footpaths by vendors has been a never-ending phenomenon in Guwahati. Almost each and every footpath in the city faces this problem. The footpaths in Six Mile, Narengi, Paltan Bazar, Ulubari, Rehabari, Ganeshguri, Maligaon, Kahilipara, etc., have been grappling with this problem. It seems that footpaths in Guwahati are for vendors, not for pedestrians. The administration conducts eviction drives on footpaths from time to time. However, vendors continue to encroach upon footpaths after a few days.
Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has been saying that it will declare vending zones in various areas in Guwahati, but that promise has not been translated into reality even today.
Also Read: Assam CM Orders Repair of Guwahati Footpaths & Manholes
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