New Delhi, May 15 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all states and Union territories to frame guidelines for proper footpaths, which are disabled friendly and ensure unobstructed movement for pedestrians, and submit a compliance report before the next hearing on August 1. A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on road safety by petitioner Hemant Jain who highlighted a rise in pedestrian deaths in road accidents because footpaths are either encroached upon or dilapidated. "Safety of pedestrians is of utmost importance. There must be proper footpaths with special emphasis on facilities for disabled as the right to have unobstructed and disabled friendly footpaths is guaranteed under Article 21," Justice Bhuyan said. Jain, in his PIL filed in February, pointed out that as per the Road Accidents in India Report 2022, of the total 168,491 road fatalities that year, 32,825 (a little less than 20%) were pedestrians. In his petition, Jain said: "Footpaths are vanishing. They are encroached by parked vehicles and street vendors. The remaining footpaths are broken, uneven, or dangerous."...