Despite Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) recent crackdown on encroachments, illegal parking and obstructions on footpaths, another form of encroachment continues to bother pedestrians across the city. Illegally constructed ramps outside houses and residential buildings has become a common sight in many areas. They completely encroach the footpath and extend onto narrow roads. While NMC’s drives have focused on reclaiming public spaces from hawkers, these permanent concrete structures have reduced the space available to pedestrians in plain sight. The problem is particularly acute in narrow residential lanes, where space is already limited. Ramps built to enable vehicles’ access to private premises often occupy a significant portion of footpaths, forcing pedestrians to walk over uneven slopes or step onto the road.

 

In lanes without footpaths, ramps projecting onto the road further reduce the already limited space. For senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and those using wheelchairs or walkers, an uneven and sharply sloping surface can make this dangerous. Pedestrians are also pushed closer to moving vehicles in congested lanes, creating an additional safety risk. ‘The Hitavada’ spoke to Dhananjay Jadhav, Additional Commissioner, NMC’s Laxmi Nagar Zone, who said that the civic body acts when complaints regarding such ramps are received and removes them by breaking the encroaching structure. While this offers residents a route for redressal, it also raises a larger question about NMC’s approach to permanent encroachments. “NMC needs a more proactive mechanism to identify such violations through regular inspections or other monitoring measures, rather than waiting for individual complaints. Footpaths are public infrastructure, and their accessibility should not depend on whether a resident chooses to report an obstruction,” said Devesh Lakhani, a resident of Laxmi Nagar.