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Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Mohandas Pai welcome footpath on Kundalahalli Main Road: 'Make Bengaluru a walking city'
Reacting to the update, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw urged residents and hawkers to help preserve the new pavement.
Bengaluru’s ongoing footpath upgrade along Kundalahalli Main Road has drawn praise from prominent city voices, including Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and former Infosys director TV Mohandas Pai, after the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) shared images of the newly developed brushed concrete pavement.
The GBA on Monday announced that brushed concrete footpath construction is currently underway on the busy corridor under the Bengaluru East City Corporation limits. The civic body said the project aims to improve pedestrian safety and offer a smoother, more durable walking surface.
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Reacting to the update, Mazumdar-Shaw urged residents and hawkers to help preserve the new pavement. “Hope citizens and hawkers keep it clean and free from encroachment,” she wrote on X.
Mohandas Pai also welcomed the upgrade, thanking GBA officials and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for “giving us a good footpath,” adding that Bengaluru “should be made a walking city.”
How did social media users react?
The development triggered a wave of reactions on X, where users weighed in on the quality and design. Many applauded the shift from block tiles to concrete, noting that tiles often become uneven or are re-laid poorly after utility work. “This is much better than tiles, which when removed are placed back in a haphazard way,” one user wrote, while another said concrete is “much easier to repair” and prevents crumbling.
Others, however, expressed concerns about long-term maintenance. Several users pointed out that newly built footpaths in the past were quickly damaged due to illegal digging, encroachment by hawkers and two-wheeler parking. “Implement very high fine for anyone who misuses this. Absolutely important!” one commenter urged.
A section of users also criticised the design for lacking permeability, arguing that fully concretised pavements could worsen stormwater runoff. “Global cities are moving to sponge-city concepts, but Bengaluru is still stuck in 1990s concrete-as-development mentality,” one user said, adding that the surface could turn slippery when wet.
Some suggested alternatives such as large-format tiles, which they said perform better than small blocks that often shift or loosen over time.
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