India footpaths leave pedestrians on deadly roads

India's blocked and poorly maintained footpaths are forcing pedestrians onto busy roads despite a Supreme Court ruling that said citizens have a “fundamental right” to safety on pavements.

The June ruling followed the death of a five-year-old child who was run over by a tanker while walking to school on a road that the court noted had neither a footpath nor a pedestrian crossing. The court said that if a road exists, authorities have a duty to provide marked and well-maintained footpaths for walkers.

A Supreme Court-appointed committee found in 2024 that 84 percent of footpaths failed to meet basic engineering standards and only one in four was usable.

Official data says more than 30,000 pedestrians are killed on Indian roads every year. The figure accounts for around 11 percent of global road fatalities, although India has about one percent of the world's vehicles.

Residents in New Delhi and Bengaluru described routes blocked by parked vehicles, potholes, rubbish, street vendors and shop extensions. Rishi Aggarwal, founder of Mumbai-based advocacy group The Walking Project, said India's problem was not a lack of laws but poor implementation by local authorities.