Challenging them further

FOR THE disabled, the introduction of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995, meant that their world had grown bigger. The Act required to keep in mind concerns of the physically impaired during construction of public buildings.

The Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu (SPASTN) recently conducted access audits (surveys) of prominent buildings in Chennai like Spencer Plaza, Government Tidel Park, Museum and Central Station.

The audits were designed to identify the barriers that make these buildings unwelcome to people with physical and mental disabilities.

The museum and railway station were constructed when the needs of the disabled were rarely considered. But Spencer Plaza and Tidel Park came up after the legislation was introduced.

At the museum, for over the last 100 years, no attempt has been made to improve accessibility. There are no toilets for visitors, the ticket counter is in a small building close to the sculpture gallery, the gallery and ticket office are hidden behind a gateway, the single step to reach the ticket counter on a shallow plinth doesn't have space to take a wheelchair and the transaction at the counter is through a grille, which makes it difficult for those who cannot hear.

After buying the ticket, a visitor is guided through a passage which is narrow and turns through two right angles, an impossible manoeuvre for wheelchair users and hazardous travel for people with mobility problems. There is no ramp or handrail and the nosings are not highlighted.

Inside the museum, the small plaques with descriptions beside each exhibit are mounted at different heights.

As the plaques are inside a glass and the letters are not embossed, the visually impaired cannot touch and read. Audio guides can be used to improve access to the exhibition.

At the Central Railway Station, there are only steps to the main entrance despite space for the construction of a ramp. The visually impaired will find it extremely difficult to move around on the cramped platforms. While for the physically impaired, it can be quite a task getting into the trains.

To reach the reservation hall on the first floor, there are lifts and steps. But the lifts are not signposted, the lift buttons are beyond the reach of a wheelchair-user, the visually impaired cannot touch and read the control panel and there is no door reactivation device to protect those who might be delayed in getting out of the lift.

There are no announcements and also no mirror to enable a wheelchair-bound person to move safely. On the day of the survey only one lift was working.

The high reservation counters are beyond the reach of the wheelchair users. No counter is provided with induction loop to help those with hearing problems. Besides, the staff are also seated behind a reflective glass, which makes lip-reading difficult for those who cannot hear.

There is no passenger lift in the main building to provide access to the first floor restaurant and waiting room.

Spencer Plaza and Tidel Park have ramps at the entrance (although steeper than the national design guidance recommends), but the excessive use of marble and plate glass on the flooring can prove hazardous for the visually impaired.

At Tidel Park, steps to the first floor are built on a curve and the step nosings are not highlighted. While at Spencer Plaza, the information booth is located in a sunken central court and on the first floor, there are two flight of steps.

No warning is given about this sudden change in the level, step nosings are not highlighted and the flights are not fitted with ramps or handrails. There is also no seating facility in the plaza.

Of course there are fundamental problems that almost all buildings in Chennai face if they open their doors to the disabled.

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Participation) Act, 1995, calls this kind of unfavourable condition for the handicapped as discriminatory. Despite repeated approach to the concerned authorities, in Chennai we are still waiting to see a favourable change in this direction.

CLARE GOODRIDGE

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