Hyderabad, Sept. 26 -- Outside the Gachibowli stretch that houses Infosys, TCS, Indian School of Business (ISB) and Wipro, the footpath is wide enough for three people to walk side by side. It is paved in granite. Next to it is a cycle track and a skywalk runs overhead. On a weekday afternoon, people were actually walking on it. That is more than can be said for most footpaths in the rest of Hyderabad.

In most other parts of the city, footpaths are broken, narrow, dirty or taken over by shops and vehicles. Many areas have no footpaths at all and people are left to walk on the road.

A walk through the western IT corridor, from Durgam Cheruvu through Hitech City, Raidurg, Kondapur and Gachibowli to the Financial District and Nanakramguda,...