The World Disability Day, which falls on December 3, may have something big in store for differently abled people in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching Accessible India Campaign on that occasion. For those who didn’t know this before, accessibility to public places, private buildings and offices is the biggest challenge for disabled people in India. They may be qualified for a job, but they are turned down for the post because the recruiters feel they can’t commute to work each day or even climb the stairs to the office building.
Curently, only 1 per cent of the buildings and public places in the country provide disability access. Even worse, only 1 per cent of children with disabilities in India have access to school buildings. So Modi pitching for them is a big thing. It may spur bureaucrats and corporate houses to start thinking in that direction.
Modi will also present National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
Briefing the media, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Lov Verma said, “The Accessible India Campaign is aimed at achieving universal accessibility for persons with disabilities. The campaign will increase accessibility of buildings, transport system, and enhance usability of information and communication services for people with disabilities,” he added.
Which is a good thing, except it would have been a better solution if the government had simply made access for the disabled compulsory in all buildings and public places. It would finally give the disabled community an even platform to compete on.
Currently facilities for the disabled are limited to the occasional ramps for entry and washrooms for physically disabled in malls. Railway stations are the worst where disabled people find it very difficult to board trains, not only because of the badly constructed boarding steps on trains, but also the fact that compartments for the physically disabled are often located at the rear end of the train. We need to think beyond that to make it easier for disabled, not just physically disabled, but even visually challenged, to travel and commute without depending much on escorts.
