Homely move: HDFC bank takes down anti-homeless spikes

Mumbai: Reacting to sharp criticism on social media, HDFC Bank on Tuesday removed the anti-homeless spikes outside their branch on the ground floor of the Manekji Wadia Building, Nanik Motwane Marg. The move follows anger and dismay on Twitter following a tweet by a foreign journalist over the lack of sensitivity towards not just homeless folks but also passers-by.

The first tweet with an accompanying photo stated, “An eye-catching response to Mumbai’s homelessness crisis from @HDFC_Bank”, which at last count led to a flood of 591 responses, 3,148 retweets and 3,100 likes. Twitter user and writer Salil Tripathi pointed out that it’s a practice started by London banks.

Tushar Gandhi tweeted, asking for the BMC intervention, as the move was a safety hazard for pedestrians at large. Tagging HDFC Bank handles, Twitter India employee Raheel Khursheed declared, “If this is true, I am moving my business elsewhere. This is unconscionable.”

According to Saadik Ali (68), a book vendor in the neighbourhood, the idea of installing spikes was originally that of the previous occupants. “Globus had put the spikes but they had left a three-inch space so one could easily sit there. But when HDFC Bank moved in, they put in additional rows of spikes.”

Ali Khan, a mobile-cover vendor, said since the spike plate was widened, passers-by also started getting hurt. “The spikes were long and extremely sharp. I am glad that they have taken it down,” he said.

HDFC Bank spokesperson, Neeraj Jha, responded with a series of replies. While acknowledging that the installation of the sharp spikes during a branch revamp exercise about a month ago was insensitive, Mr. Jha assured enraged Twitteratis that amends would be made.

On Tuesday morning, the spikes were removed and replaced with flower pots. The HDFC Bank statement said, “We removed the spikes installed at our Fort Branch as soon as we came to know of its existence and the potential inconvenience it could cause to the public, especially children and the elderly. We should have been sensitive. We deeply regret any inconvenience that it may have caused to any member of the public.”

Called defensive or hostile architecture, sharp spikes like those installed outside the bank are controversial in their discouragement of how the public interacts with spaces. In January, British artist Stuart Semple launched a campaign to eradicate ‘hostile design’ around the world after his local council retrofitted bars across benches in a bid to stop homeless sleepers lying on them.