Mumbai’s streets, already notorious for congestion, have now turned into hazardous zones for pedestrians as an unrelenting series of infrastructure projects has stripped away vital footpaths across the city.
With several areas across the metropolis facing simultaneous digging for utility work, concreting, and pipeline repairs, what remains for citizens is an obstacle course of rubble, debris, and broken pathways. For those walking to schools, hospitals, or railway stations, the situation is no longer just inconvenient—it has become life-threatening. Across five zones of the city—north, south, central, western, and eastern—residents are navigating footpaths reduced to fragments or blocked altogether. Areas such as Sion, Matunga, Dadar, and GTB Nagar have become representative of a larger urban dysfunction where the basic right to walk is no longer guaranteed. While the civic authorities tout these works as part of a long-term urban improvement vision, the current execution leaves much to be desired. The absence of pedestrian safety measures, signage, and planning raises serious concerns about public accountability.
In neighbourhoods where work appears complete, the aftermath is far from pedestrian-friendly. Concreted roads are juxtaposed with broken pavements and uneven surfaces, often strewn with leftover materials. With monsoon approaching, the lack of preparedness threatens to compound the dangers for the elderly, schoolchildren, and persons with disabilities. In some locations, accessibility is so poor that even a short walk demands detours onto traffic-heavy roads, putting lives at risk.
The city’s roadwork schedule, rather than being staggered or coordinated, appears to overwhelm entire neighbourhoods at once. While urban upgrades are welcome and necessary, their current implementation reflects a skewed development model that prioritises vehicles over walkers, speed over safety. What is striking is not merely the extent of the digging but the absence of any structured planning that accommodates pedestrian needs in the interim. The visible apathy is reinforced by the lack of temporary walkways or barricades, suggesting that pedestrian movement remains an afterthought in Mumbai’s infrastructure playbook.
In an era when Indian cities aspire to be smart, inclusive, and climate-resilient, the degradation of footpaths in a financial capital like Mumbai strikes at the core of equitable urban planning. Mobility, after all, begins on foot. A walkable city is not merely a convenience but a marker of environmental sustainability, public health, and human dignity. As Mumbai races towards modernisation, it must reconcile this ambition with the lived realities of its citizens. The footpath, in its current state of disrepair, is not just a civic failure but a social injustice that demands immediate redress.
Also Read :https://urbanacres.in/jammu-srinagar-highway-faces-extended-closure-after-flash-floods/
