Chennai: There was a viral video doing the rounds on social media showing an old woman, probably homeless, asking a biker to get off the pedestrian walk when he tried to drive on it to avoid the heavy traffic.
The incident happened on 100 Feet Road at Ashok Pillar. The video went viral and social media users hailed the woman as ‘brave patti’ and she was trending on Chennai Twitter.
She forced the biker to get off the pedestrian walk by waving a stick and asked him to drive on the road not on the pavement.
It is a known fact that Greater Chennai Corporation has been laying king-size pedestrian walkways throughout the city to help pedestrians and morning joggers.
After the installation of new pedestrian walkways, the road’s width has shrunk. In order to get past the traffic, bikers and even autos, use the pedestrian walkway. “The problem is they think they have no time to wait in the traffic and everyone wants to get home early,” said a commuter.
Traffic constable Ramkumar at Ashok Nagar station said, “People are using the pavement to park their bikes or use it to beat the traffic. We levy fine on motorists who use the pedestrian walkway under dangerous-driving category. They not only drive on the pavement, but also damage it.”