Blacksmith & Bus stop

Pic By: Gayatri Pradhan (ToI) of Delhi Haat

A speeding bus rushes towards you, horns blaring. Taken aback by the sudden speed and noise, you try to step aside, only to bump into a cyclewheel. Welcome to the Sagarpur turning on Pankha Road, a pedestrian’s living nightmare. Criss-crossing between high-speed vehicles has become a way of life for pedestrians here as the footpath has been taken over by blacksmiths. About 10 shanties, housing families of Rajasthani blacksmiths have been occupying the footpath here for the past 15 years. The Sagarpur bus stop is located barely 100 meters away and the stretch has a number of buses parked at any given time. But with the footpath being blocked, pedestrians are forced to walk on the busy road. ‘‘Walking from the bus stop to my house is a harrowing experience. The footpath has been occupied for many years now,’’ said K C Bharadwaj, a Janakpuri resident. Parents of schoolgoing children too are a worried lot. ‘‘My son’s schoolbus drops him on the main road, but I am scared to let him walk home alone,’’ said Himani Kumar, who escorts her son to and from the bus stop everyday. Residents allege that there is a nexus between the local police and the blacksmiths encroaching the footpath. Although they were removed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) a few years ago, they came back within a few months and settled at the same place once again. The blacksmiths have now started selling plaster of Paris statues at the intersection.