Bengaluru: By July 2016, Kempegowda International Airport and city railway stations beside 50 important government buildings of the city will become completely disabled friendly. Thanks to the Accessible India Campaign of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, this campaign will be formally launched on December 3.
According to a proposal prepared by the Department, it has been proposed to conduct accessibility audit of at least 50 most important government buildings and converting them into fully accessible buildings by July 2016 in all the major cities of the country including Bengaluru.
An accessibility audit will be conducted of all the international airports and converting them into fully accessible international airports (July 2016). This list includes the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL) of the city.
Railway stations: According to the strategy paper prepared by the department, A1, A & B categories of railway stations will be converted into fully accessible railway stations (July 2016). This list includes Bengaluru city railway station.
How to make the airports, buildings and railway stations disabled friendly: Under this initiative, an airport is accessible, if a person with a disability has no barrier in entering it, and boarding and disembarking from airplanes.
This covers the built environment - surfaces, steps and ramps, corridors, entryways, emergency exits, parking - as well as indoor and outdoor facilities including lighting, signage, alarm systems and toilets.
Initiatives: Speaking to this newspaper, an officer from the South Western Railway informed that all the railway stations in the city were already made disabled friendly through several initiatives including ramps, wheel chairs etc.
“Once the audit is done we can get a clear picture on the actions to be taken to make the railway stations and trains more disabled friendly,” he said.
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