Pedestrians skip the skywalk

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) ambitious project to bring down the number of accidents on District Office Road by jaywalkers has proved to be a dud as the skywalk along with a lift, which was inaugurated in the month of April has no takers. The reason — poor planning by the Palike.

When City Express probed to find reasons for the lack of users, we found most of the pedestrians complaining over the installation of the skywalk which is away from the Mysore Bank signal.

While the company which built the skywalk under public private partnership, is ready to offer lift service, people still tend to cross the road creating trouble for commuters.

The Palike had built the skywalk about 200 metres away, near Kandaya Bhavan making it inconvenient for pedestrians as they have to walk for a while to cross the road. Suhas, a pedestrian said, “The skywalk should be at signal junctions and not at a place where the pedestrians rarely use it.”

The skywalk operators offer lift facility between 8 am and 8 pm everyday and the lift has a capacity of 1,000 kg. It can lift 13 people at once and during power cuts too, the lifts are operational using generators.

On April 25, the skywalk was opened to public. Rajdeep Buildcon Private Company invested Rs 2.25 crore to build the skywalk along with two lifts. These lifts were installed to help elders, physically challenged and others who are unable to climb the staircase. The company’s management claims that nearly 600 to 800 people use the lift facility from 9.30 to 11.30 am and 4.30 to 6.30 pm.

BBMP has deployed two operators throughout the day to ensure the safety of the users. “We have invested a huge amount on this project with a motto to serve people. But many pedestrians do not use it,” said H S Harish, Assistant manager of Rajdeep Buildcon Private Company.But for some pedestrians, it has come as a relief.

“I have been accessing the lift facility from the beginning. Safety is important while crossing the road,” Shanmugam, a pedestrian.