KATHMANDU: The highly congested Koteshwor–Balkumari road section in the federal capital, Kathmandu Valley, is facing a severe lack of safe sidewalks for pedestrians.

Aside from a few areas where proper footpaths have been built, pedestrians in most sections are forced to walk along the edge of the road, putting their safety at risk.

While a proper sidewalk has been constructed over the drainage system for a certain stretch along this road, it abruptly ends and is replaced by iron plates.

These iron plates have buckled and caved in across many places, while in other spots, the iron pieces have come loose and protrude dangerously. To mitigate the risk, temporary bamboo supports have been makeshifted in some areas.

According to local residents, pedestrians have even had their feet trapped due to the sunken iron plates. This situation has become particularly dangerous for children, senior citizens, and those walking at night.

Fearing that the iron plates might collapse at any moment, many pedestrians are choosing to abandon the sidewalk altogether and walk on the edge of the road, which has significantly increased the risk of accidents with speeding vehicles.

The lack of a safe and continuous sidewalk on one of the federal capital’s busiest roads is directly impacting thousands of daily commuters.