Andheri residents don’t walk. They just go from point A to point B, eyes firmly on the ground to avoid loose paver blocks on pavements, or, always looking over their shoulder to avoid traffic when the lack of pavements forces them on to the road. Thus it was a discovery that broad footpaths actually exist in this overcrowded suburb. A discovery made possible only because it was a Sunday, the only day Vedant Mhatre and his team from the Walking Project can take groups of inveterate walkers around specific neighbourhoods to see how pedestrian-friendly they are. 

Andheri is definitely not friendly. Even early on a Sunday, despite the broad pavements leading to the station being free of hawkers, the few commuters hurrying by preferred to walk on the road, thanks to the unrelenting barricades that fence all footpaths. When a pavement is the exception rather than the rule, as it is in Andheri, who has the time to look for a break in those barricades to step on to safety?