Nov 06, 2024
Nov 06, 2024
It is presumed that the right of every person to walk and reach his destination safely is a fundamental right enshrined in our constitution. Every day in all our cities, even in our mofussil towns the risk involved for the children, women, senior citizens and disabled to walk the street and cross the roads is mind boggling. Missing sidewalks, inappropriately elevated kerbs, undulated and broken footpaths, uncovered ditches, encroachments, menacingly protruding steel & sticks, unauthorised parking of automobiles and two wheelers are common sight if we get to walk down the street. The plight of a pedestrian is more to be experienced than to be expressed.
Within a day three of my senior citizen friends and family members- were victims of this pathetic state of affairs, still nursing their broken bones and fractured limbs.
More than 53% of the victims of the road accidents are pedestrians. According to the survey conducted by Central Road Research Institute more than 90% of the pedestrians feel unsafe.
With the increase of vehicular population in geometric proportion and the inadequate infrastructure for pedestrians it will be a night mare to walk.
EU has adopted a comprehensive charter of pedestrian rights.
The European Charter of Pedestrians’ Rights (adopted in 1988 by The European Parliament)
Every essential fundamental right of an Indian citizen gets restored by our honourable supreme court.
For instance, in February 2012 in the Baba Ramdev case , Supreme Court pronounced : "Sleep is essential for a human being to maintain the delicate balance of health necessary for its very existence and survival. Sleep is, therefore, a fundamental and basic requirement without which the existence of life itself would be in peril," the court said, terming it as a basic human right.”
One would profoundly hope that the plight of pedestrians gets the attention of our highest court and a charter of rights of pedestrians is adopted and available.
04-Jul-2015
More by : N S Ramachandran
The article is written perfectly and brings out the plight of the general pedastrians. Good initiative by the writer and hats off to him !! |