Published Jul 08, 2026 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 08, 2026 | 7:00 AM
Bengaluru, 6 July: Garbage dumped on the footpath has rendered the walkway useless for pedestrians. A scene near Lalbagh.
Synopsis: Pedestrians, perhaps the largest unorganised section of citizens, are deprived of footpaths — pavements to walk safely and with dignity. The Supreme Court has now asserted that the right to walk on safe, demarcated footpaths is a fundamental right under the rights to free movement and life. But are the footpaths in your city available for pedestrians?
The oldest available reference to the wheel — the circular frame of hard material capable of turning on an axle — dates back to about 3500 BC, in a Sumerian pictograph. However, humans have been walking on Earth from time immemorial.
As time passed, the wheel underwent multiple changes; for instance, spoked wheels appeared around 2000 BC. Soon, the wheel symbolised speed, change, and even passing time.
With the passing time, cities grew manifold. Vehicles choked the roads. People developed more needs. Those who commuted on foot soon got sidelined.
We call them pedestrians. As an adjective, the term also means something lacking inspiration or excitement. Pedestrians are looked down upon as swanky cars zip through the city roads. Pedestrians — the nameless, faceless and often powerless multitude — have been dismissed as those with the least priority on the roads.
Bengaluru, 6 July: Garbage dumped on the footpath has rendered the walkway useless for pedestrians. A scene near Lalbagh.
Civic accountability took a backseat. Law enforcers looked the other way as vehicles infiltrated footpaths to circumvent traffic jams, or even to park. Street hawkers, who could not afford proper shops, encroached on them and spread their wares. Garbage piled up. Broken pavements, missing slabs of drains, loitering cattle and stray dogs added to the chaos. At many places, footpaths were missing altogether.
Amidst the chaos, pedestrians, who have been walking even before the wheel was invented, were forced to hop, skip, perhaps fall and even step onto motorways. They have been stripped of their right to walk safely — and with dignity.
It took the death of a five-year-old boy — crushed under a tanker — for the country to realise the right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(d) and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The case came before the Supreme Court as the boy’s family fought for compensation.
On 19 June 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar declared that the right to walk on safe, demarcated footpaths is a fundamental right under the rights to free movement and life.
The apex court has passed its order. Now, it is time to reclaim footpaths. It is time to begin a new era of civic accountability.
Join South First’s Reclaim Footpaths campaign. If you see a footpath encroached or damaged, share a photo and details (location, date) with us on +91 8341082462. We will flag it to authorities incharge of fixing it.
