Disabled rights' body advocate 'inclusive access' in city planning

Guwahati, Jun 22 (UNI) The draft of Guwahati Master Plan, 2025, which has led to widespread reactions from all sections of denizens, has also drawn attention of the activists working for equal rights of the disabled.

The Disability Law Unit (DLU) of the Sishu Sarothi, a leading legal rights group in North East, has pointed towards the insufficiency in the limited special facilities kept for the disabled people in the draft master plan.

Assistant project coordinator of DLU Anju Talukdar highlighted that the draft plan has considered the needs of the disabled population only as part of the parking policy and in schools for the disabled.

However, other equally important issues like housing, retail areas, transport systems, higher education options, etc. have been left out, she added.

Ms Talukdar said, " To initiate the full integration of persons with disabilities by 2025, it is important that the upcoming master plan addresses the needs of persons with disabilities in totality." Stressing on the importance to include special facilities for the disabled right at the planning stage, she said, " Additional costs can be minimized or even eliminated if inclusive design is considered at an early stage." Quoting the National Sample Survey Organisation that 6 per cent of our population suffers from some form of significant disability, the legal rights activist said," we come across very few people with disabilities at public places primarily because the infrastructural design does not meet the basic requirement for easy mobility and inclusion of persons with disability." " Indeed it is fair to say that all members of society would benefit to some degree from intelligent, logical and inclusive infrastructural design and planning," she added.

Ms Talukdar informed that the DLU was holding extensive consultations with experts so that the chance to ensure barrier-free access in the city at least by 2025 is not missed.

She stressed on the emergence of Guwahati as the gateway to the North East, which made it more important that the city was developed as a barrier-free one for all its denizens.

She also maintained that international guidelines for developing a city with equal access to all its denizens should be followed in case of the Guwahati master plan and the scope of inclusion of persons with disability should be broadened.

UNI