Survey on access for disabled

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 6.

In a unique campaign to raise awareness about the need to make cinema halls and other public buildings in the Capital accessible, a group of ``differently abled persons'' initiated an access survey of five major public places in West Delhi today.

Besides Vishal cinema in West Delhi and the adjoining bus stand on the main Najafgarh Road, the group belonging to a non- governmental organisation, ``Samarthya'' conducted an access survey of NIIT Centre and Wimpy's in Rajouri Garden as also Nirulas in Bali Nagar and McDonalds in Punjabi Bagh.

The access survey team included Sanjeev Sachdeva, a wheel-chair user living with muscular dystrophy, Anjaleee, a walking stick user; Dinesh Gupta, who is living with cerebral palsy; Dr. Onkar Sharma, hearing impaired; Sweety Bhalla and Dipendra Manocha, visually impaired and Mr. Anil, architect.

The project, entitled ``Access for Success'' is part of a movement aimed at making Delhi disabled-friendly. ``We have taken up the issue of barrier-free tourism and in the past five years, we have realised that it is the inaccessible environment which deters the persons with disability to venture out thereby confining them in their homes'', says Mr. Sachdeva, founder- member of Samarthya.

With its avowed objective of promotion of Universal Access, Samarthya conducted an Access Survey of Dilli Haat recently. After identifying the problem areas, it presented solutions to Mr. Pradeep Sachdeva, creator and architect of Dilli Haat.

It is keeping in this spirit of the awareness campaign on promoting a barrier-free environment that Samarthya, along with Disabled People's International, took up a survey in various parts of West Delhi this morning. The concerned management in the beginning were reluctant and hesitant about the objective of access survey.

After being convinced that the idea is to sensitise, they welcomed the observations and suggestions made by the team and agreed to work in tandem in future.

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