Who Owns Karachi’s Footpaths? Where Are Pedestrians Supposed to Walk?
Karachi’s footpaths, service roads and residential streets are increasingly occupied by illegal encroachments, forcing pedestrians to walk alongside moving traffic. Syed Abdul Basit calls on the Sindh government and municipal authorities to restore public pathways and ensure lasting enforcement.
Karachi Footpaths: Citizens struggle to find safe walking routes amid growing encroachments.
By Syed Abdul Basit
Walking in Karachi is becoming increasingly difficult. Encroachments on footpaths, roadside stalls occupying service roads and growing obstructions in residential streets have made everyday life harder for citizens. The situation has reached a point where pedestrians can no longer rely on footpaths, roads or even neighbourhood streets for safe passage. The question is simple: where are the people of Karachi supposed to walk?
Footpaths are public spaces designed for pedestrians, not private property. However, occupying them has become common across the city. Fruit and vegetable carts, roadside stalls, shop merchandise, motorcycles and parked cars regularly block pedestrian pathways. As a result, people have no choice but to step onto busy roads, exposing themselves to the constant risk of accidents.
Women, Children and Elderly People Face Greater Risks
Women, children and elderly citizens suffer the most from this situation. Consider a woman walking with her child to a market or school. She may find roadside stalls and parked vehicles blocking the footpath. Consequently, she must walk alongside moving traffic, while trying to keep her child safe. This can turn even a short journey into a dangerous experience.
Have the relevant authorities considered how these encroachments put citizens’ lives at risk? Pedestrian safety should be a basic responsibility of every city administration.
Encroachments Are Spreading into Residential Areas
The problem is no longer limited to major roads and commercial markets. Roadside stalls and pushcarts have also spread into residential streets and neighbourhoods. Areas where residents once walked freely are now increasingly congested. In some places, even passing through a narrow street has become difficult.
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It appears that almost every available public space has become a target for encroachment.
Service Roads Have Also Been Taken Over
Service roads face a similar situation. Authorities designed these roads to support traffic flow and improve public convenience. However, roadside stalls and other encroachments now occupy large sections of these routes.
Consequently, vehicles struggle to pass, traffic congestion increases and pedestrians lose another safe place to walk. The situation creates difficulties for motorists and pedestrians alike.
Who Is Responsible for Stopping Encroachments?
An important question remains: how do these encroachments emerge, and which authorities are responsible for preventing them?
Do the relevant departments remain unaware of activities taking place in their own jurisdictions? Can officials really overlook the occupation of footpaths and service roads? Moreover, if authorities conduct anti-encroachment operations, why do the same stalls and obstructions return within days?
Karachi has witnessed several campaigns against encroachments. Yet, these operations have failed to deliver lasting results. Authorities remove stalls from selected locations, issue announcements and release photographs of their actions. However, within a short time, the same spaces often fall back into occupation.
This suggests that temporary operations are replacing a permanent solution. Without consistent monitoring and enforcement, such campaigns cannot produce meaningful change.
Sindh Government Must Ensure Permanent Action
The growing occupation of Karachi’s footpaths, service roads and neighbourhood streets can no longer be ignored. The Sindh government should take immediate notice and direct the relevant municipal authorities to remove illegal encroachments across the city.
Removing stalls from a few locations is not enough. Authorities must establish regular monitoring and ensure that public spaces remain clear. They should also take firm action against those who repeatedly occupy cleared areas.
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Town Municipal Corporations (TMCs) must fulfil their responsibilities within their respective jurisdictions. They should prevent encroachments from returning and hold the relevant officials accountable for continued violations.
Most importantly, authorities must restore pedestrian access to footpaths. These spaces belong to people who walk, not to roadside stalls, shop displays or vehicle parking.
Citizens Have a Right to Safe Footpaths
How long must Karachi’s residents continue to suffer because of these encroachments? How long will women and children have to walk between moving vehicles? When will elderly citizens finally have safe pedestrian routes in their own neighbourhoods?
People in Karachi are gradually losing the basic right to walk safely in their own city. Providing secure and accessible pathways for women, children and elderly residents is a responsibility of the Sindh government and municipal authorities.
Karachi needs more than occasional anti-encroachment campaigns. It needs consistent enforcement, effective supervision and accountability. Until authorities reclaim public footpaths and keep them clear, one question will continue to haunt the city: where are its citizens supposed to walk?
