MUMBAI: Sunday saw a unique endeavour by Mumbaikars—one that involved a community walk on the 23.6-km Swami Vivekanand Road (S V Road) on the occasion of the 162nd birth anniversary of the renowned monk, philosopher and author after whom the road is named.
The walk, which was organised by the Walking Project, an organisation that aims to create a good and safe walking environment for Mumbai, was at Borivali, Malad, Vile Parle and Bandra. A handful of people congregated at the four locations, held up placards and distributed pamphlets on onlookers. The walk began at 10 am and continued for an hour.
At Bandra
The walk started at 10 am sharp from Lucky Junction perpendicular to the railway station. The participants, who travelled from different parts of the city, took an early morning train, before the rail mega block began, to reach the location. To demonstrate the pedestrian-unfriendly condition of the footpaths, one participant shot a timelapse video.
Curious eyes followed the participants as they walked past, distributing pamphlets and trying to make people understand the importance of pedestrian-friendly roads. Val, a Project Mumbai volunteer, who kept moving aside dumped objects on the road during the length of the walk, said it was up to citizens to save the footpaths and render them walkable. Group leader Vedant Mhatre measured the height of footpaths at various locations, and advocated a fixed height of 15 cm.
The timelapse video showed how the walkers had to constantly get off the footpath to avoid the obstructions. Prashant Vaidya and his wife, a senior citizen couple who live on S V Road in Bandra, noticed the awareness campaign and approached the group. “People park their vehicles on the footpath, which obstructs the way. On complaining, the traffic police issue challans, yet this continues,” they said.
At Borivali
Six participants, including the HT reporter, met outside the railway station. Those exiting the station watched the group curiously. “Kya aapko chalna pasand hai? We are advocating the rights of pedestrians, who do not have any say,” said Rishi Agarwal, who heads the Walking Project, to a group of young students.
At 15 minutes past 10 am, the group began walking towards the Kandivali end of S V Road with hurdles galore. From uneven roads, no footpaths and shops encroaching on the roads to underground cables coming out on the pathway to haphazardly parked vehicles; we saw it all in the first 100 meters.
As the walk progressed, with the participants handing out flyers and taking pictures of the hurdles that they came across, a traffic policeman, who tends to be the first point of contact for such things, showed the group how there was no pedestrian space at the Bandra junction, which is a five-way intersectional road. Combined with a barely-there traffic signal, people have to sprint across the traffic crossing or make it only halfway.
Keyur Mistry, an architect and resident of Borivali, who has now moved to London, said that the walks in Europe were beautiful. “We realise how important pedestrians are there and how neglected we are here in Mumbai,” he said. “This city deserves good, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. Mistry, who is in Mumbai for a holiday, got to know about the Walking Project from social media and decided to participate.
Another walker, Sonal Desai, documented the walk on her camera, asking others to also participate. At a bus stop outside Borivali Jail, a group of men were discussing how this was a futile exercise and nothing would improve, as the authorities were not serious about addressing problems faced by commoners. “No one wants to come on record and speak their mind about these vital issues,” said Desai, a resident of Thakur Village.
