A delayed footbridge endangers pedestrians crossing the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway

Located just 600 meters from the Kaniminike Toll Plaza, the stretch is used by over a thousand private university students every day. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

Over one-and-a-half years, more than four pedestrians have died and several others have been injured on a 150-200-metre stretch of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway near a private university in Kaniminik in West Bengaluru due to lack of pedestrian infrastructure.

Located just 600 meters from the Kaniminike Toll Plaza, the stretch is used by over a thousand private university students every day. The fencing on both sides of the highway was cut to allow pedestrians, including students, to move from one side to the other.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) started work on the construction of a footbridge at the site about 18 months ago, but the project remained incomplete.

According to Bengaluru traffic police data, there were more than four fatal accidents on the stretch from January 2025 to May 2026. More than six non-fatal accidents were reported during the same period. However, the number of non-fatal accidents could be much higher, as some remain unreported.

As Prashanth, a student at the university, said, “It’s always a gamble when crossing the highway, and many people feel anxious when crossing.”

Residents are forced to cross the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway at Kaniminik amid rush hour traffic as the footpath remains incomplete more than a year after construction began. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

A common occurrence

Manjula, who runs a tea stall by the highway, said she has witnessed three deaths in the past year. She remembered the horror of seeing a walker thrown into the air.

“It was at the end of last year when a car hit a pedestrian. The man was thrown into the air and almost got off the main road onto the service road, he ran 60 to 70 meters,” she recalled.

Mokshith Chaturvedula, 19, a second-year BBA student, said one of his seniors died last year and a girl was injured in the next two months, whom he and his friends took to the hospital.

“It happens very often. The Skywalk is more than necessary at this point, given the frequency of these incidents,” he stressed.

Busy neighborhood

The neighborhood around the stretch is bustling with students and day laborers. Within a radius of only 200 meters there are almost a hundred paying accommodation for guests. These accommodations are located on both sides of the road, so residents have to cross the highway.

People living on the Mysuru-bound lane have to cross to the other side if they want to travel to Bengaluru city, which students say is a common occurrence, especially on weekends.

Although the Kaniminike Toll Plaza is only 500 meters away where they can easily cross, pedestrians rarely use this route as crossing there would require them to walk another kilometer.

It works to begin with

An NHAI official in charge of the project told The Hindu that the work had been stopped due to land acquisition issues, which have now been resolved, and that construction would resume soon.

“We will complete the work within two months,” he said.

Published – 11 Jul 2026 23:05 IST