City in India grossly violates disability access laws

From The Times of India:

CHENNAI, India -- Getting to work is becoming a chore for Karthik S. The 26-year-old, with muscular dystrophy, is gradually losing the ability to walk. "I take the MRTS (Mass Rapid Transport System) everyday. Often, the escalators don't work in the stations and I am forced to use the stairs. Most stations do not have ramps," he says. Karthik is one of the many differently-abled in the city who have trouble accessing public buildings.

According to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority's (CMDA) second master plan, released in May 2010, "all schools, religious buildings, museums, art galleries, libraries, bus terminals, railway stations, container terminals should have ramps for the disabled in the entrance indicated by proper signage, a special restroom as specified by the National Building Code and special parking space should be allotted to disabled people in every building". Gross violation of these rules is visible all over the city. No MRTS station has a restroom for the disabled; most do not have ramps. Bus terminals do not have seats let alone ramps.

The second master plan says the regulations apply only to buildings used by the public and not to residential developments. Ironically, places frequented by the disabled like the office of the state commissioner for the disabled, employment exchanges, supermarkets, railway stations, bus terminals and schools do not comply with the norms. The state commissioner's office is on the first floor of a building with no elevators.

"There are times when the elevator at the MRTS station stops in between and starts suddenly. So I prefer not to use it lest I hurt myself," says Karthik. "The MRTS projects have not been completed. They should have started functioning only after ramps and other facilities were in place. In the case of bus stands and terminals, local bodies are in charge," says CMDA chief planner C Palanivelu. Even the CMDA building in Egmore has only one floor with a restroom for the disabled. The recently-built ramps are extremely steep.

Many schools and colleges too have no ramps or special restrooms for disabled. Most corporation schools have ramps "because corporation schools have to accept anyone, disabled or not. Most private schools just send disabled children to special schools," says Palanivelu.

"Most people think just a ramp is enough," says Ragesh GR who suffers from residual polio in both legs. Ragesh, who is 65% disabled, says small gestures like providing parking spaces close to the building, lift buttons at a lower levels and railings on both sides of staircases help a lot.

"To promote, to protect and to ensure complete and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the disabled persons and to promote respect for their inherent dignity", India in 2007 ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). "That is a great step theoretically, but we have a long way to go. Equal enjoyment means we should be able to access places that a person without disabilities can," says Ragesh.

"In the first master plan, no provisions were made for the disabled and hence none of the old buildings are accessible. The buildings that will follow the second master plan should be accessible as we have made provisions," says Palanivelu. "More architects are building disabled-friendly structures nowadays which comply with the National Building Code," he says.

For people like Ragesh and Karthik, however, these are just words. "We are used to living like this. Even if we want to forget our disabilities and lead a normal life, the surroundings don't let us," says Karthik.