Sunday 28 April 2013

Get rid of steps, build a smooth ramp

According to Persons With Disabilities Act, 1995, all public buildings must be so designed as to give easy access to disabled people. But the law has been in existence for 18 years and instead of making things easier for the disabled, every new public construction seems to be achieving the opposite. Here is one example.
The photo shows the southern entrance to Devaraja Market. After the remodelling of the area around the Dufferin Clock, they have put steps which makes wheelchair access impossible. They have even botched up the steps by leaving a gap in the middle. Several abled people have sprained their foot (and some might have broken it too) by stepping into this gap.
Vishwas Krishna, Mysore Grahakara Parishat