The UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities is being observed on December 3 to promote accessibility, remove all types of barriers and to realise full and equal participation of persons with disabilities. This year’s theme is “Break Barriers, Open Doors for an Inclusive Society and Development for All”.

Around one billion people in the world live with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities face physical, social, economic and attitudinal barriers that exclude them from participating fully and effectively in the society.

They lack equal access to basic resources like education, employment, healthcare and social and legal support systems and have a higher rate of mortality. Despite this, disability has remained largely invisible in the mainstream development agenda in many countries. Barrier-free environment is one which enables people with disabilities to move about safely and freely and use all facilities within the built environment, roads, parks, gardens and other places.  The goal of barrier-free design is to provide an environment that supports independent functioning of individuals so that they can participate in all activities without assistance.

There is a popular belief that a ramp and an elevator/lift is all that is needed to make a built space barrier-free. But barrier-free has many other aspects ranging from door and passage widths to flooring surface, from counter heights to door handles and railings and from signage to auditory signal. Barrier-free design should be incorporated to access disabled persons.

A small child, an elderly person, a pregnant woman, the temporarily disabled, all are vulnerable to barriers. A list of design elements needs to be considered when creating a barrier-free environment are, ramps, handrails and grab-bars, lifts, signage, information and service counters, etc.

India has more than 21 million people suffering from one or the other kind of disability. The Persons with Disabilities Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act of 1995 heralded a new dawn in the lives of disabled people.  For the first time in independent India, a separate law has been formulated which talks about the multiple needs of disabled people. The Act stipulates that the Governments, local authorities  ensure provisions of barrier-free facilities in all new Government buildings and public utilities, roads and transport.

It enjoins upon the authorities to ensure within their economic capacity provision for installation of auditory signals in public roads for the benefit of persons with visual handicaps, kerbs and slopes to be made in pavements for the easy access of wheelchair users, devising appropriate symbols of disability at appropriate places.

Regarding non-discrimination in the built environment, provisions have been made in the Act for ramps in public buildings, adaptation of toilets for wheelchair users, Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators. Curb cuts and slopes to be made in pavements for easy access of wheelchair users; engraving on the surface of the zebra crossing for the blind or persons with low vision.

Amendment of building bylaws is the most important step towards creation of a barrier-free built environment in different cities and the guidelines for barrier-free environment may be referred from Bureau of Indian Standards and the Urban Development Ministry guidelines.

In order to create a barrier-free environment in consonance with the provisions of the Act, the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs & Employment is currently engaged in the process of amending the existing building bylaws which would be applicable to all buildings and facilities used by the public.

A provision of barrier-free design has also been incorporated in the Bhubaneswar Development Authority Building Regulation, 2008.Besides, access audit for various public buildings and urban spaces frequently visited by public is required to promote barrier-free built environment. Access audit will include identifying the barriers in terms of external and internal built environment of the buildings such as approach, main gates, parking, building entrance, public dealing areas, corridors and general circulation areas.

Today accessibility for all is recognised as a basic necessity, and there are attempts all over the world to ensure this. Barrier-free features are now becoming fundamental to all design concepts.  The awareness level about the necessity of barrier-free access needs to be raised. The existing code must be effectively implemented to break barriers, open doors for an inclusive society. This new design approach will provide a barrier-free environment for all.

(Dr Mayarani Praharaj works at the Department of Architecture, College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar)