Vendors, vehicles gobble up footpaths as Hyd pedestrians turn hurdles

Hyderabad: A day after the Telangana high court directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to identify and remove footpath encroachments in the city, TOI team takes a city tour to check the ground reality. Across the city, footpaths meant to provide safe passage have either disappeared, crumbled beyond use, or been steadily encroached upon, turning walking into a daily challenge for lakhs.
In north and eastern Hyderabad neighbourhoods such as Malkajgiri, Sainikpuri and Dr AS Rao Nagar, pedestrians are routinely forced onto the carriageway. Parked two-wheelers, roadside eateries, auto stands and makeshift shops occupy what little walking space exists."There is a footpath on paper, not on the road. It is the responsibility of people's representatives to flag the issue and of the municipal authorities to resolve it," said Geedi Charanjith Goud, a resident of Malkajgiri. "Every morning, I walk on the main road with buses brushing past me."The problem intensifies near commercial and transit hubs. In areas such as ECIL, Tarnaka and Habsiguda, footpaths have been steadily taken over by vendors and shopfront extensions."We are treated as obstacles on our own footpaths," said V Hema Latha, a resident of Dr AS Rao Nagar. "When I go to pick up my children from school, it becomes difficult to walk with vehicles moving at high speed. Street vendors, parked bikes and shop entrances block the way."In eastern stretches such as Uppal, encroachment is compounded by poor maintenance. Cracked slabs, uneven tiles and debris left after utility work have turned pavements into hazard zones.Some residents point out that even where footpaths exist, they are poorly protected.Urban planners say the issue reflects long-standing neglect of pedestrian infrastructure.The crisis is visible across multiple zones of the city. In western Hyderabad's Tolichowki, the stretch near Pista House has disappeared under rows of parked two-wheelers and eatery extensions. "By evening, there is not even a single uninterrupted step you can take on the pavement. We walk in a line on the road and hope vehicles slow down. It's concerning, especially when we are with children who may suddenly run," said Sameera Khan, a homemaker and local resident.Along the Rythu Bazaar corridor and beneath the PVNR Expressway, pushcarts and temporary sheds leave barely a foot-wide gap. Fruit vendors there say they have no alternative space to conduct business. "We are not occupying space for luxury. There is no organised vending zone for us here. Give us a place and we will move," said Ramesh, a vendor, adding that frequent eviction drives only create uncertainty without offering alternatives.Under the Lakdi-ka-pul Metro station, footpaths are obstructed by shop extensions, display boards and parked autos. Commuters exiting the station are pushed directly into traffic lanes, particularly during the evening rush hour.In central parts of the city, pavements are similarly misused. On Minister Road in Rasoolpura, especially near car service centres, pavements turn into car-wash zones and parking bays by dusk. "We have complained a few times because we have barely any space to walk here, but the garage owners say they do not have any other space for servicing and washing. We do not even know whom to complain to," said Laxmi Jadhav, a 32-year-old who walks from Rasoolpura to her gym in Sindhi Colony. She added that in Sindhi Colony as well, every inch of the footpaths is occupied by roadside eateries.Santosh Mallareddi, a finance professional and regular runner and cyclist, said walking has become less of a right and more of a daily negotiation with traffic. "I start early, around 5 am, before business begins because there is absolutely no space. Many roads either do not have footpaths or they are broken or encroached upon. Tracks exist in some places but are blocked by parking, vendors or poor design, and there is no one to clear them. We need safer spaces for commuters on foot and on bicycles," he added."Encroachment is not limited to poor street vendors; even affluent residents occupy footpaths by building watchmen's rooms or placing generators on them in areas such as Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills," said Kanthi Kannan, founder of Right to Walk. "Action is rarely taken against such violations. Pedestrian infrastructure must be planned based on need, not leftover budgets. Foot overbridges, often projected as safety measures, actually prioritise vehicle speed by pushing pedestrians out of the way. In the process, pedestrians are treated as an afterthought."GHMC achnowledges challengeMeanwhile, officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) acknowledge the challenge. Anti-encroachment drives, including recent operations under Operation ROPE, have cleared hundreds of structures across north Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and plans are in place to build footpaths on roads of adequate width."We are conducting anti-encroachment drives on a daily basis and removing illegal occupations across all zones of the city," said RV Karnan, GHMC commissioner. "These drives will continue on a regular basis," he added.Until pedestrian infrastructure is planned, built and protected with the same priority as road expansion, residents say walking will continue to feel unsafe.For now, across much of Hyderabad, the footpath remains the city's most contested, and most neglected public space.