Pedestrians' right to use footpath shrinking

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 5: Civic sense is the sense which is somewhat inborn in individuals and sometimes it can also be inculcated while growing as an individual. It is somewhat shocking to see individuals residing in urban areas sans civic sense, compared to those living in rural areas. Guwahatians are no different!

It has become a normal sight when people on their two-wheelers riding on footpaths just to overtake vehicles or riders in front of them. They do not pay any attention to the problems the pedestrians on the footpaths have to face. Such acts add problems to the pedestrians on footpaths which are already crowded by vendors.

“It is almost difficult now for pedestrians to use the footpaths. There is almost no room to walk. Footpaths are happy havens for vendors. With riders too using them, the pedestrians are left to elbow their ways. It seems people on foot have to fly to the destitions,” Nirmal Deka, a pedestrian, said.

It is normal for people to breach red lights at traffic points, especially when there is no police to watch. The traffic points at Joyagar Chariali and Bhetapara Chariali are the worst affected ones. Most of the time there is no police personnel and the traffic sigls are digitized. Without caring much about the blinking red lights drivers and riders breach sigls.

“Even police personnel now don’t say anything or care less when such incidents do take place under their very nose. Whenever police personnel try to apprehend such people they tend to describe about acquaintances in the police department or some other higher ranked people. Such acts leave the police to wonder that they are civilized enough to breach rules and sigls and bribe at the same time,” Basistha Police Station officer-in-charge CN Borah said.