Hindustan Times: Chandigarh:
Saturday, June 22, 2013.
Leave aside helping the physically
challenged and the elderly, the Chandigarh municipal corporation does not even
know the guidelines provided under a law passed by Parliament 17 years ago that
stipulate a disabled-friendly environment. In response to a Right to
Information (RTI) application, the MC has in turn asked the applicant to
provide a copy of the guidelines.
The central government had put in
place the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights
and Full Participation) Act 1996, and made it mandatory for municipal bodies to
follow guidelines given therein. In 1998, the central public works department
(CPWD) issued guidelines.
But when nominated councilor
Surinder Bahga sought to know the status of implementation, he got this reply:
"It is intimated that no such guidelines have been found in the copy of
the act. Therefore you are requested to provide the copy of the relevant
portion from the act.
As per the guidelines, the MC should
specify basic infrastructural provision that need to be incorporated in new
buildings to make them convenient for the disabled. Accordingly, all local
authorities must update their building codes. Further, before giving
permissions of construction, civic bodies should ensure provision of step-less
system for easy access to buildings, lifts for free access to upper floors,
adequate doors width for wheelchair entry, and accessible toilets.
Little Implimentation:
But a random check on the ground
reveals the lack of a disabled-friendly, barrier-free environment.
Of the 33 community centres under
the MC, only two, in Sector 8 and 16, have ramps. The bus stops do not have any
such infrastructure at all, nor do the parks.
Bahga said, "In some cities,
redesign and retrofitting is done to make the existing buildings and roads
friendly to the disabled. Here, the MC has not done anything of that sort, and
not even planned for the future. Even when they get drawings from the chief
architect for approval, the officials never bother to ensure that provisions of
the law are followed."
Shani Kumar, a physically challenged
student of architecture at Chandigarh, said, "We face a lot of difficulty
as most parts of the city do not have ramps. For instance, though the
authorities have constructed a ramp in the Sector-9 market, it is very steep
and slippery."
When contacted, mayor Subhash Chawla
said, "It is not possible that MC does not have the guidelines, but I will
look into the matter."
But Harman Sidhu, president of NGO
ArriveSafe, remains distraught that even Chandigarh, one of the youngest and
best planned cities, fails when it comes to "real accessibility".
"If one has to meet the administrator in his office, a wheelchair-bound or
a disable person cannot do without scaling 8-10 stairs with the help of
securitymen, who are thankfully kind enough. Even the building of the MC, the
agency which is supposed to make the city's public areas wheelchair-accessible,
itself lacks basic features," Sidhu said.
Some of the key guidelines :
· 2 rows of guiding blocks for persons
with impaired vision 300mm away from the bus stop pole on the sidewalk
· If the approach pathway is parallel
to a road for vehicles, enhance the safety of pedestrians by installing guard
rails
· For wheelchair users, sudden level
differences from taxi (or bus) stand to road be eliminated
· Pathways/ramps of non-slip material;
at places where there is a difference in level, such as where staircases meet
floors, appearance of surface be changed using colour contrast
· Reservation or information counters
should have unobstructed approaches for wheelchair users; counter heights
should not be in excess of 850mm
· Install a ramp for approach into
building, lift for upper floors; two guiding blocks for persons with impaired
vision, 300mm from the lift-call button
· Toilet and washstand be suitable for
wheelchair users
· Wherever applicable, at least one
ticket/coupon gate wide enough to allow wheelchair users to pass through easily
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