The footpaths do exist, but you just can’t walk on them.On one of east Bengaluru’s busiest roads linking Whitefield’s IT hubs, apartment complexes, malls and hospitals, pedestrians are forced to dodge parked vehicles, food stalls, shop extensions, garbage, and construction material simply to move forward.A TOI reality check of the 4km Hoodi Junction-Hope Farm stretch of ITPL Main Road found that despite having relatively wide, well-built footpaths, large sections have been swallowed by encroachments, parking and roadside commercial activity.Located a few kilometres from the International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB) — known widely as ITPL, the corridor witnesses heavy pedestrian movement throughout the day. Yet the footpaths, though largely intact and protected by bollards, have steadily been taken over by competing uses.TOI found shopkeepers extending banners, display racks and signboards onto the walkway, while customers routinely parked two-wheelers and cars partly on the footpath.Several stretches had food stalls operating entirely from the footpath, with plastic chairs spilling onto pedestrian space. In some places, vendors were washing utensils on the walkway. Cooking cylinders, firewood, tyres and other materials were also stored on the footpath.The survey also found garbage heaps, mattresses, construction material, large cement pipes, OFC and electrical cables, puncture repair shops, and roadside dustbins occupying pedestrian space.The spillover extends onto the carriageway. Autos, cars and two-wheelers stopping outside shops and eateries routinely eat into the traffic lane, creating bottlenecks on an already congested corridor.Encroachments along this stretch are hardly new. Successive enforcement drives by the erstwhile Mahadevapura Zone and, more recently, Bengaluru East City Corporation have repeatedly cleared the footpaths, only for encroachments to return.The corridor reflects Whitefield’s contradiction: while thousands work inside tech parks and office towers, others earn a living on the footpath. In the absence of designated vending zones, pedestrians and vendors continue to compete for the same public space.What TOI Found1. Piled-up garbage on multiple stretches attracting flies, causing foul smell and unhygienic conditions2. Advertisement boards on footpath, blocking walking space and forcing pedestrians to step onto the road3. A series of food carts and seating chairs in front of shops, leaving only narrow passages for pedestrians4. Live cooking and washing utensils on the footpath5. Parked vehicles further reduce space6. Puncture shops and repairs on footpath7. Stacked construction materialsITPL can be rated 2/5SAFETY: PoorBroken paving blocks, dangling utility cables, construction materials, food carts, and parked vehicles frequently obstruct the walkway, forcing pedestrians onto the carriageway. Along several stretches, the reduced walking space increases the risk of conflicts with moving traffic, particularly during peak hoursACCESSIBILITY: AverageThe corridor connects major employment, healthcare and commercial destinations, including ITPB, technology parks, large gated communities, Nexus Shantiniketan Mall, and Manipal Hospital. While the footpaths are generally wide, encroachments and obstructions reduce their usabilityMAINTENANCE: PoorThe stretch suffers from broken paving blocks, garbage accumulation, wastewater discharge from roadside eateries, utility cables, construction debris, and incomplete restoration following civic and utility works. Shop displays, parked vehicles and commercial spillovers further add to the clutter, reflecting a lack of regular maintenance and enforcement along the corridorResidents Speak“When the new govt had just taken office, a new joint commissioner was posted to Mahadevapura in 2023. There was an attempt to remove these vendors, but they returned. The entire stretch outside Manipal Hospital gets blocked because cab drivers and auto-rickshaws stop on the road to eat. They ignore the ‘no parking’ and ‘no stopping’ signs, “ said Pradeep Nair, resident of Prestige Shantiniketan.Footpaths are being misused at several places. “Food stalls have taken over large sections of the walkway, making it difficult, especially for senior citizens, to walk comfortably. We have raised the issue repeatedly, but no action has been taken,” added Jai Kurup, member and former president, Hoodi RWA.“Walking from Hoodi Junction to Shantiniketan is far from comfortable. There are obstructions like uneven footpaths and garbage dumps. Footpaths are poorly maintained,” said M Devi, a resident, Vaswani residential complex.
