This footpath warrior takes up the cudgels for pedestrians

BENGALURU: Nearly a week after her daily routine turned into a viral video, Manju Thomas was back to grim business — doing everything physically possible to stop pavement riders.
TOI caught up with the 27-year-old on Monday while she stacked up stones on a footpath on Mission Road near the Corporation bus stop to drive away bikers and make room for pedestrians.

The video, uploaded by a passerby who witnessed Manju trying to reason with two men on a bike to not ride on the sidewalk on March 16, has received over 10 lakh views so far.

Manju wasn’t prepared for all the accolades that followed. Her phone hasn’t stopped ringing and she’s swamped by congratulatory messages. “I never expected that the video would be uploaded on social media or receive an overwhelming response. I thought Pavan Kumar, who was a bystander, was taking the video to give it to police,” said Manju.

An HR professional employed with a private firm on J C Road, Manju said she has been doing this since she was studying in Christ College. “Normally, most bikers smile and acknowledge their mistake but the person in the video was adamant and asked me who was I to stop him. I politely told him that pavements are meant for pedestrians and not for motorists but he didn’t listen to me and continued to argue,” she said.

Regretting the lack of space for pedestrians and saying it is unfair that motorists want even the little space that is left for walkers, she said traffic cops are not strict when it comes to pavement riding. “I have a large collection of photos and videos of footpath riders. Traffic cops should increase the fine amount for these violations and take stringent action against violators,” Manju said.

Cops to intensify drive against pavement riders

Additional commissioner of police (traffic) R Hithendra said they have decided to intensify enforcement against footpath riders. “I have already instructed three DCPs about the same,” he said

Traffic police records show that the number of cases booked for the offence has increased from 16,069 in 2016 to 18,889 in 2017. As many as 2,735 cases were booked till February this year. The city has 50.64 lakh two-wheelers.

Traffic police said commuters can upload pictures of such violations through the Public Eye app.