As a part of my daily routine, I set out for my evening walk in the neighborhood park, barely five minutes from my home. My journey to the park is more of an ‘obstacle walk’ that keeps me mentally agile as I navigate the constant flow of traffic and encroachments on the way. The park has a well-maintained circular track, but sadly, there is no pavement in the residential area to reach it. The moment I step out of my gate, I am thrust into a busy lane where a vehicle brushes past every few seconds. There is no footpath to retreat to. The public space that once belonged to pedestrians has been swallowed by an undeclared, chaotic car park.
In the good old days, there were fewer cars, not more than one car per family, all safely parked inside the house gate. Most of us moved our gates a few feet outward onto public land to accommodate four-wheelers inside. Over the years, the number of automobiles has multiplied. Today, not only do the gates sit many feet beyond the approved boundary lines, but cars are also simply left on the street creating congestion.
The congestion becomes more acute as the lanes become narrower where public land has been ‘reclaimed’ as private lawns—some manicured, others unkempt, but all illegal. Fences and boundary walls stand defiantly beyond the approved building lines, leaving no room for pedestrians to walk.
I recall our own lapse three decades ago. Before moving in, we planted four eucalyptus trees in front of our house at the very edge of the road. Thankfully, good sense prevailed, and we removed them before they became part of the problem.
Missing and broken pavements are a reality not just confined to residential areas; they are a civic epidemic. From local lanes to bustling markets, the pedestrian path is being gobbled up. Footpaths disappear as shopkeepers use the verandah as an extended display window and hawkers occupy pavements as their shop floor.
We are all bearing the brunt of this illegal occupation. Our lanes look chaotic and our traffic flow is disrupted, yet nobody will budge. The status quo remains because of a stubborn collective psychology: “If my neighbor does it, why can’t I?”
In this deep-seated culture of entitlement, no one is likely to take the initiative voluntarily. Change will only come when the administration takes firm, uniform action. We have seen resistance to the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Mohali following a High Court directive, but that pushback is the price of progress.
Restoring our public spaces is not an act of aggression—it is an act of restoration. It is about making our lanes wider and less chaotic, our traffic smoother, and our cities walkable again. After all, the street belongs to the citizen, not the sedan.
(Published in Hindustan Times, Sunday Read as ‘Guest Column om 24 May 2026)
Well articulated Rama. We all face this problem day in and day out. The car population is exploding and parking is definitely an issue. No footpaths, most of these have been converted into cycle tracks. Encroachment is another issue. Its good that you have highlighted the problem. How do we walk on the roads ? Kudos to you and more power to your pen.
So nice of you Alka to read and leave your comment.
Thank you so much
Yes dear , number of cars in the city is exploding. Chandigarh has the highest car density in the country . Our lanes have turned into undeclared car parking not just gobbling pavement but also
disrupting the flow of traffic. A big nuisance in sectors with marla houses!
Rama dear you expressed this problem very well, the encroachment of places in well planned city like Chandigarh. Imagine the condition of Bangalore. No place is left on the streets and footpath,no place for slip roads. Only place to walk is in foot paths of gated community. Another problem is huge number of stray dogs. Any solution of these problems…. not visible in near future.
I agree 💯 with you dear Neelam . No solution in sight in near future. Chandigarh is far-far better than other cities but encroachments are everywhere. Self created problems, no option but to bear them!
Thanks a ton Neelam for sharing your views on the subject.
The article is topical and reflects your own awakened civic sense. This hunger to devour the public space prevails all around and must be quite gratifying for the hungry house owners. Let’s hope that readers will derive some lesson from your telling comments and will spread the word to bring comfort to the users of sidewalks.
Very firmly put across dear Rama
Thank you so much dear Vidula for sharing your insight. The article may not bring any difference in the situation but it definitely makes me feel better as I ventilate something that bothers me .
Once again I thank you from the core of my heart for your endorsement. Means a lot to me .
Daily walkers are brushed aside by buzzing motorcycles & speeding cars since pathways are over crowded by hawkers . Municipal Corporation should come forward to stop this growing menace .
You are right . Nothing will change unless administration steps in to take strict action uniformly without favouring anyone.
While in the West vehicles will stop to let the pedestrians cross, here in our country they are treated shabbily.
Thank you so dear Mrs Chopra for taking time off to read and give your input.
.”…the street belongs to the citizen, not the sedan. ” Rama, your concluding sentence says it all. Touche ! Pertinent and powerful it drives your message straight home. It should become the slogan for the authorities and all citizens. Respect each others rights and let’s keep our city “Beautiful ” Brilliant write up.
I am speechless.. absolutely clueless .. don’t know how to respond.
Thank you so much . Feel blessed .
The painful inconvenience due to increasing number of cars and the hunger to gobble as much public land as one could , defiance of rules in markets and public places has been voiced in a big way….it’s time Government took strict action against defaulters to make life easier for citizens of the City Beautiful…well done Rama dear….
Thank you so much dear Mrs Dhawan for the valuable insight.
There is no solution to the problem unless administration takes action against defaulters.If we are made to pay for every illegal occupation whether to do with the gates or private parks on public land , most of us won’t do.
Rama I could relate very well to your reactions on the various obstrusive factors that ruin a smooth walk for a pedestrian these days more so for senior citizens…. You are absolutely right that an unforgiving firm directive from the administration … rather with penalty… like water wastage penalty, can be a saviour.The Indian attitude of …sab chalta hai… often results in haphazard parkings where sometimes the person whose car has been blocked by another casual citizen is left high and dry sometimes for hours …. all he can do is glare at the non apologetic owner whi refuses to have eye contact with him.
Brilliant write up.👍👍🤗💕
Madhu, delighted to see your comment, a pleasant surprise indeed.
It is only firm action by the administration that can help create space by reclaiming public land. But there is bound to be opposition to the action. MC will act unless pressurised by the Court. We want wider lanes but won’t give up our own illegal occupation of public land voluntarily. A catch 22 situation!
Thank you so much Madhu for putting your point across so emphatically and beautifully.
Madam,you highlighted a very common problem in our country.I visited many state capitals in different parts of our country but encroachment prevailing everywhere..Walking is more a tension here than health care process.Chandigarh is comparatively more planned ,discipline and clean city as far as I know.
So nice of you Garima to share your experience. Yes , encroachments are everywhere .
Dear , you carry a very different picture of Chandigarh. In early 80s , the city was quite different from what it is today, though definitely better than the rest of the country.
Sahiiiiii hai!!This problem has cropped up all over in cities because there is no concept of parking area in any locality!!Easy loans have made car purchase affordable and lanes are getting suffocated day by day.So Rama another meaningful subject picked by you and very well expressed in your well worded language!!Good job done my dear.
Yes dear , our lanes are getting choked mainly because of the exponential growth of cars. However, the problem gets compounded when public land in front of the houses is gobbled by private owners whether in making parks , shifting the gates and boundary beyond permissible limits.
Thank you so much Neelam . It is gratifying that you read and choose to post your comments .
Rama when Chandigarh in 50’s, Panchkula in late 70’s and Mohali during the same where man made, the architects , planners, thinkers of master plan couldnt think even that one day there wuould be a 4 wheeler boom and that too of this magnitude. Thanks to Sanjay Gandhi for bringing in Maruti and then Rajiv Gandhi who opened the flood gates. The conservative banks opened up the loan gates and the there you see the 2 wheelers plannned roads became mere lanes of negotiation of 4 wheelers. Tricity population multiplied exponentially leading to expansions at the seams. The dwarf of poorabiyaas washed each corner with their presence and so did the mushrooming of hawkers stroke bhayaas on all possibly available walking tracks,trees,roads and parking spaces. This is an administrative failure as the administrative machinery is under political thumb for petty ballot gains.
I agree back in 50s when Chandigarh was planned, no one could have imagined the kind of four-wheeler boom we are witnessing today . However, neither the roads nor lanes are narrow in Chandigarh but definitely not wide enough for car parking . There are cars parked on the pavements and compounding the problem in the residential area are encroachments eating into the public space. Only a uniform strict action by the administration can reclaim public land .
Your pen Rma knocks at a very sensitive issue as that of Pedestrians Plight n Vanishing Pavements.
Highlighting how reaching park in evening is dangerous for no safety path to reach there..
N imagine glaring disparities of our country where majority of population uses pavements…!!!
Very genuine issue…!!!
Not for Sedan but for humanity…
Very well said..
Recently developed Dubai has first priority to pedestrians….
Huge space for them..
Our ego.. Fantastic… We believe in occupying extra space in front of gate to show machismo… Not everyone sensitive of our acts like you..
I congrats you for withdrawing planting trees for convenience of other..
How sad we bow to High Court orders for retreating encrochments which is not in our moral senses…
Hawkers.. Insensible car parking… Extension of shops from front..
Is our uneducated attitude..
Oldies.. Kids.. Handicapps.. Have to be taken care of..
Walking on legs is requirment.. Healthy.. N safety needs proper due space to pavements….
Well written painting true picture of retarted mentality..
Where humanity lost sense..
Be blessed..
♥
Thanks di for sharing your candid observation.
You are right pedestrians should have a safe path but sadly, in our country, there is scant regard for them .
In Chandigarh pavements are there all along the roads but these have vanished from the residential areas , specially in sectors with high density.
Always a pleasure reading your detailed commentary.
Grateful always.
Enjoyed ur piece. You have undoubtedly highlighted this growing problem. Whenever I go out for walks and suffer the same of too many mobile metal boxes, I sigh for that judge who had ordered all encroachments to be removed from outside homes and banned the parking on foot lanes. It was executed in my mother’s sector 19 and many mini n mega gardens outside many houses were stripped off. Cars were parked in the early garden area and pavements became clearer till dwellers in 19 sector government [I hear] houses went ahead and got a stay order and all this stopped.
Can’t help condemning the citizens n the judge who reversed this order.
Yes Anshula , I remember a few years ago , the encroachments by the residents , especially the private parks in front of the houses were bulldozed, but then the action was stopped through the court intervention. Once stopped people recovered the public land .. Back to square one .
It’s really sad .. we suffer because we don’t follow rules .. when corrective measures are taken , efforts are stalled.
A sad reality !