Alas, India is no pedestrian country

India is no country for pedestrians. Between 2019 and 2023, nearly 8 lakh people died in road accidents, 1.5 lakh of them were pedestrians, according to the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre-IIT-Delhi's 'India Status Report on Road Safety' released recently. That's nearly 1 in 5 fatalities, pointing to a glaring gap in urban infrastructure. States are dragging their feet on providing even basic footpaths.

As our cities expand and densify, footpaths must stop being treated as an afterthought. They need to be wide, continuous, well-lit, unobstructed and maintained. Maharashtra leads the pack with 73% coverage in urban areas. But that figure reveals little about usability. Across cities, footpaths are broken, cluttered with spillover shops, or swallowed by parked vehicles - or even moving ones. Pedestrian safety is not just about reducing accidents. It's about creating inclusive, breathable cities. Developed nations build around people, not cars. Walkable neighbourhoods allow access to schools, markets, clinics and workplaces within a 15-min stroll. That means cleaner air, better health, less snarly traffic and even healthier citizens.

Comfortably populated streets discourage crime, making cities safer, particularly for women, children and the elderly. Encouraging walking boosts local businesses and brings life to public spaces. Unfortunately, in India, walking is still viewed as either a compulsion, or an activity reserved for hill stations and foreign lands, or inside one's building society compound. This mindset must change. Pedestrian infrastructure isn't a luxury but a marker of development and democracy. A viksit India means walking outdoors being a comfortable, even pleasurable, experience for all.