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85-year-old crusader of footpaths
Isn’t it ironical that the government is ready to spend Rs 1,00,000 crore for smart cities but we still do not have a comprehensive plan to get rid of encroachments on footpaths, asks a former scientist of CSIR-Polytechnology Transfer Centre.
Secunderabad: Isn’t it ironical that the government is ready to spend Rs 1,00,000 crore for smart cities but we still do not have a comprehensive plan to get rid of encroachments on footpaths, asks a former scientist of CSIR-Polytechnology Transfer Centre.
Irked by the lack of footpaths, he stopped driving his car a decade ago, and ever since Prof B R Pant has been grappling with the problem of finding a way and finally shot a letter to the PMO in October 2016. Much to his surprise, he received an acknowledgment and also his efforts paid off when the PMO issued an order to all the State governments and Union Territories in India to create encroachment-free footpaths.
The de-encroachment drive that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the city police undertook between December 2016 and March 2017 to a great extent is due to the efforts of Prof Pant. He says the drive died down due to political pressure and several other reasons and this got him thinking. Thus, the book.
Written in a span of three months, the 56-page book should be a ready reckoner for MPs and MLAs, says Prof Pant who wants to share the book to Speakers of all the States. “I do not intend to say that politicians do not know about the issue, but if they have a book that has all the nitty-gritty, it would help making decisions.”
Speakers from the States of Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Arunchal Pradesh and Goa responded and copies have been sent.
Start with houses who encroach footpaths The reason for the de-encroachment drive always failing, according to Prof Pant, is that the issue has been confined to just hawkers and shopkeepers.
He believes that the municipal administration needs to start with owners of individual houses who encroach footpaths. “Begin with houses inside colonies and then extend it to the streets and finally one can take up main areas in the city.”
When asked about the livelihood issue of hawkers and vendors and that they have no other alternative means of eking out a living, Prof Pant says that if there is a will, there is always a way. “If a beginning can be made and awareness spreads, someday, we can have encroachment free footpaths,” says the octogenarian.
By T P Venu
