The world’s tallest statue, ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat’s Narmada, which is visited daily by over 5,000 tourists, including elders and persons with disabilities (PwDs,) is all set for an upgrade to make it completely disabled-friendly.
The 182-metre-tall engineering marvel that was founded in a memorial tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat has recently got the tag of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s ‘8 Wonders of SCO’. It is also said to be on the itinerary list of US President Donald Trump who is expected to visit India in the last week of February this year.
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Secretary (DEPwD) Shakuntala D Gamlin said, “Statue of Unity meets up almost all accessibility requirements. Features such as conveyor belt, lifts with Braille button, spacious corridors, directional signages, wheel-chair facilities and accessible drinking water and toilets in the Statue of Unity are novel features that need to be replicated universally.”
However, certain other features such as Braille maps, sign language interpreters, audio facility for the visually impaired people needs to be added to make the accessibility complete, she said.
To assess the tourism accessibility of the icon, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, the DEPwD under the Union Social Welfare and Justice Ministry recently organised a visit of 14 youths with disabilities from all over India.
“We have noted their observation. For instance, the visually impaired and hearing impaired mentioned the need for Braille maps, Braille booklets on the historical importance of the Statue of Unity and a sign language interpreter for hearing impaired. We have started putting in place an infrastructure that provides a barrier-free access to the visitors with disabilities,” said Gamlin.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill passed in 2016 mandates upon the Governments including Centre and the States to ensure that those with disability get equal access to education, public facilities which is barrier-free in infrastructure and transport systems.
The Railways Ministry is also ensuring that nearby Kevadiya railway station is ‘Divyang’ friendly. There will be special disabled friendly features such as ramps to wheelchair access, lifts and escalators for movement to one floor to another, washrooms on both sides of the railway station. Disabled-friendly sites are getting global attention.
For instance, Kerala’s ‘Barrier-Free Tourism Project’ recently got global recognition as the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) made a special mention to it as an ‘Emerging Global Destination’ in the Accessible Destination Awards 2019. According to a report, a booming section of the travel market reserved for travellers with disabilities and also the elderly is estimated to be worth an astounding USD 19.2 billion.
