India, June 2 -- It has been nine months since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) made five streets in south Mumbai's Kala Ghoda art precinct pedestrian-only spaces. From 7pm to midnight during the weekends, temporary barricades are placed at the entrance of these five streets to keep out all vehicles, offering residents and visitors rare relief from incessant honking and noxious fumes.

But the efforts to pedestrianise these streets have been far from idyllic. Though inspired by pedestrian-only streets in Europe, paintings and lights are being installed along these roads in a haphazard manner and there is no provision for drainage, say visitors. The deadline for replacing the concrete surface with cobblestones has also been pus...