GUWAHATI: The state government of Assam had undertaken a massive project to create several foot-over bridges in the city to enable the smooth movement of both traffic and safe crossing of the roads by pedestrians. However, the lack of maintenance on the part of the authorities has gradually led to the reduced use of some of these infrastructures aimed at ease of movement by the public.
One of the older ones of the foot-over bridges in the city, which is the Lachit Nagar, remains severely neglected by the authorities. The number of destitute people sleeping there and the high chances of getting robbed or attacked because of the lack of close-circuit cameras have led to more and more citizens avoiding the same. The lack of maintenance and the destitute people attending nature's call right on the bridge have also made it very unhealthy and inappropriate for people to use. Also, the advertisement boards put on the sides of the bridge make it impossible to see what is going on on the bridge directly from the road below, raising concerns about possible antisocial activities going on.
A person working in one of the showrooms near the foot-over bridge who has to cross the road daily said, "With the lack of any lighting or cameras, the foot-over bridge feels very unsafe to use at night. Even during the day, people are often seen sleeping there, and the whole place smells like a toilet. So we avoid the same and prefer to cross the road via the opening on the divider, even though it is risky."
Even the newer ones have faced damage due to wear and tear due to the lack of maintenance. Several incidents of tiles, fittings, or even concrete falling off these foot-over bridges have been reported by the public. The escalators fitted with some of these bridges remain nonfunctional due to a lack of maintenance, and the ones in which these services work are far from performing smoothly. The same is true of the condition of the lifts fitted with these infrastructures.
Using these foot-over bridges is still somewhat possible, given the lack of rain this season, as several of them have been seen to leak rainwater. This increases the risk of electricity-related accidents as well as accidents caused by falling or slipping. In such a condition, these foot-over bridges become nothing other than places where two-wheelers can wait in case of rain.
Although the PWD is responsible for the maintenance of these projects after their completion, the department has pinned the blame for the lack of cleanliness on the GMC. But whichever department is slacking in their actions, the general public is going to face problems because of the same.
Another person mentioned, "Using these foot-over bridges seems like a heavy risk, as we don't know if anything is going to fall on us. Why does the government create these projects and put in crores of rupees if they cannot send a few lakhs in maintenance."
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