Delayed foot overbridge leaves pedestrians crossing busy Bengaluru-Mysuru highway at risk

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

The stretch, located just 600 metres from the Kaniminike Toll Plaza, is used by over a thousand students of the private university every day. The fencing on either side of the highway has been cut open so that pedestrians, including students, can move from one side to the other.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) took up work to construct a foot overbridge at the location about 18 months ago, but the project has remained incomplete.

According to Bengaluru Traffic Police data, over four fatal accidents occurred on the stretch between January 2025 and May 2026. During the same period, over six non-fatal accidents were reported. However, the number of non-fatal accidents could be much higher, as several go unreported.

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

Residents are forced to cross the Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway at Kaniminike amid speeding traffic as a pedestrian skywalk remains incomplete more than a year after construction began.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

A frequent occurrence

Manjula, who runs a tea stall by the highway, said she has witnessed three deaths in the last year. She recalled the horror of seeing a pedestrian flung into the air.

“It was towards the end of last year when a car knocked down a pedestrian. The man was flung into the air and almost reached the service road from the main carriageway, covering 60 to 70 metres,” she recalled.

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

“It happens very frequently. A skywalk at this point is more than necessary, given the frequency of these incidents,” he emphasised.

Busy neighbourhood

The neighbourhood around the stretch is bustling with students and the movement of daily-wage labourers. Within a radius of just 200 metres, there are nearly a hundred paying guest accommodations. These accommodations are located on both sides of the road, making it inevitable for residents to cross the highway.

People living on the lane towards Mysuru have to cross to the other side if they want to travel towards Bengaluru city, which students said is a frequent occurrence, especially on weekends.

Although the Kaniminike Toll Plaza is just 500 metres away where they can cross easily, pedestrians rarely use that route because taking the crossing there would require them to walk an additional kilometre.

Works to start

An NHAI official in charge of the project told The Hindu that the work was halted 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.