GBA reports work on 1,225 km of Bengaluru footpaths

Bengaluru’s five city corporations carried out clearance work on about 1,225 km of footpaths between July 1 and August 31, the Greater Bengaluru Authority said. The authority has extended its Safe Footpaths drive by three days, until September 3.

West corporation reported the highest coverage at 280 km, followed by North at 275 km. Central reported 246.8 km, South 244 km and East 179.6 km. Bengaluru North City Corporation Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar said officials covered another 20 km on September 1.

Kumar said officials had removed permanent encroachments by commercial establishments in the North corporation area and would next address locations where encroachments recur. The corporation set a target of 301 km after excluding 32 km of roads under white-topping work.

Kumar said the corporation’s earlier Walkaluru exercise, in which officials walked about 50 km of footpaths, helped identify encroachments. BNCC has earmarked Rs 25 lakh in each ward for footpath restoration.

The figures follow the government’s statement that about 300 km of footpath encroachments were still pending.