Hyderabad, Sept. 24 -- Under the Shaikpet flyover, Mohammed sells vegetables from a stall that stands where a footpath should be. Asked about the footpath, he looked puzzled. "Woh kya hota hai? (what is that?)" he asked. When the word was explained to him, he smiled and nodded.

His is one of many stalls there. Vegetable vendors, paan shops, bakeries, juice centres, and cosmetics and clothes shops have turned the space into a mini shopping complex, while autos and two-wheelers zoom past in all directions. "It is difficult to walk. We have to look 360 degrees to be safe," Fatima told Siasat.com, laughing.

She may laugh, but here, even a short walk is an exercise in avoiding traffic.

Three months after the Supreme Court declared walking o...