The pavement from Vidyasagar Island to City Centre, in DB Block, has become almost out of bounds for pedestrians. A store selling vehicle accessories parks its cars and keeps its wares on the footpath, multiple restaurants and food joints lay chairs and tables on the footpath for their customers too. The photographs I’ve clicked show how severe the problem is.
We pedestrians are forced to walk along the carriageway, dodging not just cars and bikes but also big buses. How is Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation allowing these commercial establishments to encroach footpaths illegally? They must take stern action to save pavements on this stretch and elsewhere in Salt Lake.
Santanu Purkayastha, Address not given
Diners sit on the pavement of DB Block eateries.
The TelegraphFootpath encroachment is rampant in CF Block around the swimming pool area. In fact, the eateries here lay out stools not just on the footpath but also on the metalled road and invite customers to spread out.
The stools prevent cars from approaching the shops and the cars are then forced to park at awkward angles on the road. The eateries even put up live kitchens on the footpath. And no one cares about the pedestrians who can walk nowhere near the pavement. Occasionally even police cars are parked in the noparking zones here since bona fide parking space is usurped by the eateries.
Stools laid out on the road outside a CF Block eatery.
The TelegraphThe administration seems to have turned a blind eye to these illegal activities. Action must be taken immediately.
Samir Das Gupta, CF Block
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