Make public places accessible to the disabled

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Make public places accessible to the disabled

Friday, 03 March 2023 | Arman Ali

Wholesome accessibility continues to elude persons with disabilities in India

Disability inclusion is a matter of justice and investment in our common future and shared prosperity. However, there has not been much change in our attitude or ground realities regarding facilitating the accessibility of persons with disabilities in India after 75 years of Independence. It shocked many when former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was moved from the front row of the Rajya Sabha to the last. Dr Singh (90), now uses a wheelchair and his ‘ease of mobility’ was cited as the reason for this change in the allocation of his seat in the Upper House of Parliament. This issue brings back the focus on the challenges of accessibility for the disabled. It is important to take a pause here and imagine the plight of millions of disabled people who have to commute daily via public transport, visit local grocery stores, ATMs, use pavements, etc. when there is absolutely no city that is 100% disabled-friendly in India. For decades, disability has been viewed as an also-do subject. Yet governments as well as other stakeholders have taken many initiatives to address the issues around disability. Still, as the former PM’s case suggests, there are yawning gaps when it comes to universal access in public places. The not-so-satisfying outcomes raise questions about the strategy and methodology of these interventions. The Government of India, under its Accessible India campaign, launched a program to make Central and State government buildings accessible. After the deadline for this campaign expired in June 2022, the Government reported that out of 1100 Central Government buildings, 1030 were made fully accessible, while only 595 out of 1423 selected buildings had been made fully accessible. Similarly, railway stations and airports have been upgraded to make these more accessible.

All this work, in compliance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, is good, but only addresses a part of the problem. In addition to ensuring compliance with provisions of this progressive Act, we need to concertedly work towards a focussed push on expanding infrastructure support, institutional remodelling of our work culture, continued mass awareness and sensitization programs, sustained policy dialogues and capacity building for people employed in the disability sector. The first and foremost task is to expand accessible infrastructure. NCERT's 8th All India School Education Survey (AISES) brought some startling facts on schooling facilities for children with disabilities. Out of a total of 58,76,273 teachers, only 1.32% (80,942) teachers have received any kind of training in inclusive education. Out of the total schools in the country, only 10% have handrails, 4% have adapted labs and 8% have adapted toilets. Out of 12,99,902 schools, Braille books are available in 89,145 (6.86%), Braille Slate and Stylus in 88,775 (6.83%), Taylor Frame in 88,399 (6.80%), Abacus in 1,08,441 (8.34%), Hearing-aid in 94,882 (7.30%), Computer and Software in 1,00,334 (7.72%) and Audio-visual in 1,09,647 (8.44%) schools. This lack of accessibility is acting as a major hurdle in the holistic growth of disabled children and has led to children and parents opting for open education. The nation’s poor track record in enabling employment for disabled people is another area of concern since this is intricately linked with the issue of accessibility. The RPWD Act mandates a 4 per cent reservation in government jobs for disabled people. However, the record may be dismal - in the Central government, for instance, against 2036 appointments in 2018, the figure went down to 1709 in 2019, and 1375 in 2020. Add to this, the rigid criteria of employment for disabled people resulted in many vacant posts. With reasonable accommodation, enabling an accessible work ecosystem, and assistive technologies, many persons with disabilities can be included in the workforce. This involved addressing the attitudinal barriers towards disability in society, deep-rooted stigma, and stereotypes.

An NCPEDP-Javed Abidi Fellow carried out an independent audit of various tourist spots of Rishikesh, the Yoga Capital for the world and Dehradun in Uttarakhand to check for accessibility. It found loopholes in accessing tourist spots by persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are important to our socioeconomic, cultural, and political ecosystem. Unfortunately, they do not get what they need to live a dignified life. However, for them, the ease of living remains a distant dream.

The social model of disability focuses on the interaction between a person and their environment, thereby highlighting the role of society and various institutions – government and private – in combating the stigma attached to people with disabilities. Private sectors, government procurements, and tenders – do not adhere to the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities.  Unless we create a culture that supports, promotes, and includes disability in all aspects of life, the vision of building a truly accessible, inclusive, and self-reliant India seems very far off.

(The writer is Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, a cross-disability organisation working on advocacy for disabled people)

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