Guess who makes the best use of the footbridges in Calcutta? Vagrants and advertisers.

For pedestrians, it’s too much of a bother to climb the stairs when just a hop, skip, jump and a little bit of luck will take them safely across the road.

The city has 12 footbridges, none of which are utilised by the people for whom they are meant. But they do fetch the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the public works department over Rs 3 lakh a month for every large billboard screwed to the steel girders.

Vagrants love the footbridges, too. Entire families spend lazy afternoons sprawled across the walkway with nobody to disturb them.

While most pedestrians are either too lethargic or in a hurry to cross over, even the law-abiding ones find the footbridges inconvenient. Some are too high and the rest are not located where they should be: next to bus stops and auto-rickshaw stands. Metro visits some of the under-utilised footbridges on a weekday.

Where: Sealdah, in front of NRS Hospital

What we saw: The footbridge is as high as a four-storey building. On either side, the nearest bus stop is at least 200 metres away from the stairs. Patients on their way to the hospital, the entrance to which is at least 100 metres away, are affected the most.

Pedestrianspeak: “Crossing the road is more convenient than taking the footbridge. The authorities should have reduced the height of the bridge, though that would not have fetched good money from advertisers,” said Parambrata Banerjee.

Policespeak: “There should be a law empowering us to fine pedestrians for not using the footbridge. But if we have to start stopping people from crossing the road, we will need at least 100 personnel in this very busy crossing,” a traffic sergeant said.

Where: APC Road, in front of Iswarchandra Pathabhaban

What we saw:Street dwellers have occupied the entire footbridge, setting up home and even doing their cooking there. At any time of day, over 100 of them can be spotted sleeping or just lazing around. No pedestrian uses the footbridge.

Pedestrianspeak: “Leave alone using the footbridge after dusk, nobody ever climbs the stairs in daylight. Some of the people occupying the footbridge drink and abuse drugs openly. Who would want to risk being attacked or having money and valuables snatched?” asked Brishti Majumdar, a resident of APC Road.

Where: Ultadanga, in front of the VSNL building

What we saw: Covered by billboards, the footbridge is hard to spot. Very few use it to cross the busy trijunction. After dusk, girls can be seen soliciting on the bridge.

Pedestrianspeak: “Advertisers have covered the structure in such a manner that very few can make out it is a footbridge. It fetches revenue, but the common man does not gain,” Charu Jain, a resident of Ultadanga Housing Estate, said.

Where: Lake Town.

What we saw:This is one of the busiest crossings on VIP Road but people choose to take the risk of walking across instead of taking the footbridge. Only those headed for Salt Lake use the facility regularly.

Pedestrianspeak: “The footbridge is almost as high as a three-storey building. Moreover, one has to walk a long way to reach the bus stop,” said Pankaj Bajoria, a resident of Lake Town.

Policespeak: “It is such a busy crossing. We need to concentrate on regulating traffic; we cannot go around telling pedestrians to use the footbridge. Awareness camps should be conducted,” a police officer at the Lake Town outpost said.