‘Quite evident pedestrians not on PMC priority list’: civil society body ahead of Pedestrian Day

“It has become just an annual carnival with no sincere intention evident for proactive action to deliver positive lasting results for pedestrian safety and convenience,” said Prashant Inamdar of Pedestrian First, an organisation dedicated to pushing for pedestrian safety and rights.

Inamdar said the PMC has already adopted a comprehensive ‘pedestrian policy’ and detailed ‘Urban street design guidelines’ in August 2016.

“The PMC very well knows what needs to be done for pedestrian safety and convenience. It has been more than seven years since then. Had PMC been really serious about pedestrian safety and implemented the policy wholeheartedly with appropriate street design as per its guidelines, the scenario on roads would have been very different than what is seen today,” he added.

Inamdar pointed out that the situation for pedestrians is horrific all over the city and worsening every day as the PMC is focusing only on making roads and road junctions suitable only for faster vehicles.

He said road widening with the cutting of hundreds of trees, narrowing footpaths to widen vehicle carriageways, reducing signal time for pedestrians to cross to allow more time for vehicles, making roads signal-free, building flyovers, underpasses, undermining city bus service, dismantling BRT are adding to the problem.

He alleged the PMC is least bothered about the safety of pedestrians, which is getting gravely compromised.

“It is quite evident that pedestrians are not at all on the priority list of PMC despite whatever lip service is paid and celebration of Pedestrian Day once a year. For the poor pedestrians, it is really a ‘day of mourning’ for the deathly fate they have been condemned to suffer in this so-called smart city of Pune,” he said.

On the other hand, Satish Khot of the National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC) congratulated the PMC for celebrating Pedestrian Day. “They should do such celebrations in every ward. NSCC had celebrated it many years back,” said Khot.