* THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHITHURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 20156 TIMES CITY

New Delhi: The universitiesin the capital have seats reser-ved for persons with disabiliti-es (PwD) but they don’t haveenough takers. In the pastthree years, while 2,000 stu-dents have passed Class XIIfrom CBSE alone—1,000 fromthe capital—Delhi Universi-ty’s quota of 1,600 seats for per-sons with disability has neverbeen filled. The situation is si-milar in Jawaharlal NehruUniversity despite the campusbeing barrier-free.

However, the number do-esn’t give the actual picture.Disabled rights activists saythat PwDs don’t step out of the-ir homes to come to the cam-pus as they face several barri-ers along the way.

An accessibility audit re-port of Delhi University pre-pared by Samarthyam (Natio-nal Centre for Accessible Envi-ronments) in 2015 reveals howdifficult the journey of a disab-led person is from the campusto his residence.

While there are varioussuccess stories of PwDs emer-ging from different campusesacross the city, the trend of notenough applications for hig-her studies and seats remai-ning vacant shows a distur-bing trend.

Disabled rights activist Dr Satendra Singh, a teacherat University College of Medi-cal Science (UCMS), Delhi Uni-versity, said, “Disability sho-uld no longer be treatedas a charity issue, but shouldbe a part of the development

agenda. This would ensurethat everything linked to education would enable oppor-tunity and motivation to thedisabled.”

“The University Grants

Commission mandates thatevery college or universityshould have an enabling unitfor students with disabilities.But none of the medical insti-tutions in India, barring

from enabling units are ofthe view that disabilityshould not be limited to the so-cial justice ministry, butacross agencies in creating an accessible and barrier-freeenvironment.

Disagreeing that the entirescenario is grim, officer onspecial duty of DU’s equal op-portunity cell and admissionin-charge of the PwD category,Bipin Kumar Tiwari said,“There has been a lot of impro-vement. There was a timewhen there was no support sy-stem. But universities cameforward and DU is attractingthe largest number of PwDsbecause of its efforts. Despiteinfrastructural constrainsstudents are coming forwardfor higher education.”

“The only thing neededis a consolidated and collectiveeffort of the government de-partments — particularly theagencies involved in creatingan accessible and barrier-freeenvironment. We have been re-questing Delhi Traffic Police,PWD and municipal corpora-tions to make DU roads and fo-otpaths fully accessible andbarrier-free as a pilot project.Based on the feedback, thesame model could be replica-ted across the capital,” Tiwariadded. According to Tiwari,the public transport system,particularly Delhi TransportCorporation, needs proper tra-ining to handle PwDs. “Thebus stops must be disabled-fri-endly and traffic signals musthave special assistive devicesinstalled for easy and accessib-le movement of persons withdisabilities,” he said.

UCMS, have set up such units.Equal opportunity cells arethere but they are also for theSC/ST and OBC students,”Singh added.

Activists and DU officials

Varsity Seats Go Vacant As Differently Abled Face Too Many Hurdles On Way

Higher studies for disabled a low pointRED MARKS IN REPORT CARD

DU fares poorly in

disability

TEST

The DU Accessibility Audit Report

2015 severely indicts the

university of failure to make its

premises friendly for

the differently abled

University Road, Chhattra Marg, GTB Road, Shreya Mishra Marg and Sudhir Bose Marg

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS CONSIDERED

➤ Adequate space requirements on footpath, including clearance, widths, heights, rest-spaces

➤ Clarity of route -- light-ing, absence of clutter, dustbins, encroachment

➤ Cycle paths

➤ Right of way, junction and road crossings

➤ Safety features

➤ Level differences -- steps, ramps, kerb ramps

➤ Equitable access and use of bus stops, public amenities, security posts/kiosks and other facilities

KEY FINDINGS

➤ Height of footpath more than 150 mm, the prescribed standard height

➤ Kerb ramps too steep and a trip hazard for those with limited mobility

➤ Missing kerb ramps

➤ Open manholes, trees, kiosks and vehicle parking on footpaths

➤ No continuous footpath at Khalsa College playground entry

➤ Kiosk near Miranda House gate occupies footpath, leaving just 1,520 mm of walking zone

➤ No stop line at pedestrian crossings

➤ Barriers at bus stops

➤ Many footpaths don’t have light poles

➤ Footpaths not continuous

➤ Cycle paths not continuous or illuminated

AREASCOVERED

Note: Audit done under aegis of Public Works Department by Samarthyam (National Centre for Accessible Environments)

Number of PwD* candidates from CBSE (XII)

* PwD: Person with disability

2012

2013

2014

2015

1,889

2,214

2,275

2,125

863

988

1,178

1,039

INDIA DELHI

For people

with disabilities, it’s impossible

to walk on footpaths

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Accessibility ismore than just a ramp on theroad. It’s the ability to getfrom point A to point B, wit-hout making a project of it.This was the theme of a ses-sion on accessibility for thedisabled at India HabitatCentre on Tuesday.

Organised as part of therun-up to 20 years of Personwith Disabilities Act, theevent, Equality +20, broughtto light the pathetic state oftransport for the disabled inthe city.

Shivaji Gupta of Acces-sAbility, an organisation thatworks for the disabled, said,“There are building bylaws,acts, and provisions underASI guidelines for the disab-led, yet the ground reality isdifferent.” He added thateven though audits are con-ducted on the state of accessi-bility of public transport orspaces, they don’t translateinto a balanced environmentfor all.

Sibaji Panda, another spe-aker, was critical of the lackof inclusion. “Accessibilityis not only for those with mo-tor limitations,” said Panda,using sign language.

And it’s the basics whichneed to be addressed first, agreed speakers at the event.“For instance, visual signagein buildings go a long way

towards inclusion. When Iwalked into India HabitatCentre, I didn’t require anyhelp as there were signageand other visuals,” addedPanda. Similarly, contact sy-stems like visual corridors orexit signs could be set up forpeople with different needs,he suggested.

“This could be for callingpolice, hospital or any otheremergency contact. At present, both my wife and I

are hearing-impaired andthere’s no way we can call police on the phone,” addedPanda.

The need for audio and vi-sual signs in buses, trains,autorickshaws, taxis, banks,and elevators was also talkedabout. “Visual destination lo-cators can be installed in bu-ses,” added Anjlee Agarwalof Samarthyam, anotherNGO. “Apart from the stan-

dard-floor buses, DTC hasover 3,000 buses that are eit-her low floor or semi-low flo-or. But they ply only on someroutes. That means personswith disabilities cannot ac-cess buses on the routes whe-re only high-floor buses ply,”Agarwal pointed out.

Moreover, boarding bu-ses—many DTC bus standsare much above the groun-d—is another drawback, added activists. “Even beingable to use bus stands is part of the accessibility,”said Agarwal.

For most on the panel, the only public transportthat offered some facilitieswas the Delhi Metro. But again, accessibility to Metrostations was a huge draw-back due to encroachmentsand lack of ramps. “Gettingto the station is also a task,” said Agarwal, adding,“Feeder buses are not acces-sible, neither are autoricks-haws or taxis.”

To make accessibility a reality, speakers suggestedmaking infrastructure forpeople with disabilities apart of the tender and fun-ding conditions. “For instan-ce, taxis should only get a permit if they keep a certainpercentage of their vehiclesaccessible to the disabled,”said Meenu Bhambhani, glo-bal head of CSR at Mphasis,an IT company.

From hospitals to buses,accessibility a grey area

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

For most on the panel,the only public transport that offeredsome facilities was theDelhi Metro. But again,accessibility to Metrostations was a hugedrawback due to encroachments andlack of ramps

New Delhi: In a first for thecity, Uber, an app-based taxiservice, has introduced a spe-cialised service for the disab-led and the elderly. CalleduberASSIST, the service willbecome operational fromThursday.

“Already present in othermarkets worldwide, Delhiwill be the first city in Indiawhere Uber is rolling out thisservice,” said an Uber spo-kesman.

As part of the facility, dri-ver partners in Uber will betrained to assist the passeng-er with different accessibili-ty needs while boarding orde-boarding a car apart fromfolding and storing theirwheelchairs, walkers, and

scooters for transport.The training module for

driver partners includes im-parting necessary knowled-ge, and safety requirementsof such passengers.

“This will involve visibleand invisible disability awareness and communica-tion tips to provide an excel-

lent experience to riders,”added Gagan Bhatia ofUber. The training will equipdriver partners with theright questions to ask and the right things to do for an effective interaction withthe riders.

Uber, which has partne-red with iCare Life to providespecial training to their“top” driver partners, saidthe service will be availablein other cities across India“soon”.

To access the service, acommuter has to use the appand enter code ‘ASSISTDEL’in promotions tab to unlockthe service. “Select the ‘ube-rASSIST’ option above theslider, set your location andget your ride,” said the Uberofficial.

Nipun Malhotra of Nip-man Foundation, said, “I usewheelchair and I have experi-enced the challenges personswith disabilities face in in-tra-city travel, as cars aren’taccessible and drivers insen-sitive to our needs.”

Uber to launch cab servicefor disabled, elderly today

WORLD DISABILITY DAY

December 3

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The governmenthas spent crores trying to ma-ke the city’s pavements pe-destrian-friendly, but mind-less planning has made theminaccessible to all, especiallythe disabled. A large numberof pavements have tactile gui-ding strips for the visually im-paired. Unfortunately, theycan’t rely on them as chancesare that they would hit a poleor a tree. These strips are ma-inly used for beautification.

Similarly, it is impossiblefor a wheelchair-bound per-son to use the pavements asthey are not uniform. Forlong, disabled rights activistshave demanded constructionof pavements and streets ba-sed on universal design. Tho-ugh the guidelines preparedby UTTIPEC have special pro-visions for making streets dis-abled-friendly, experts say go-vernment agencies don’t fol-low it as it is not mandatory.

“At present, pavementsand streets are developedor redeveloped in isolation-.They should be low in heightand wide enough to accommo-date wheelchairs. If infrast-ructure is disabled-friendly,it will automatically becomepedestrian-friendly,” said As-hok Bhattacharjee, adviser

(CSE) and former director ofUTTIPEC.

Encroachments aside, ex-perts say the bigger problemis mindless planning. “Thegovernment should make itmandatory for governmentagencies to carry out develop-ment work based on universaldesigns,” said Javed Abidi,honorary director, NationalCentre for Promotion of Emp-loyment for Disabled People.

The Centre is launchingAccessible India Campaignon Thursday aimed at makingthousands of buildings inthe country disabled-friendly.“It is a good initiative, butmaking a few buildings acces-

sible is not sufficient. It sho-uld be made mandatory in the national building code,”Abidi said.

“If the guidelines are in-corporated in the national bu-ilding code and PWD andCPWD manuals, then thingswill change,” said PS Uttar-war, former additional com-missioner UTTIPEC and ur-ban planner.

Civil society members al-so stress on the need to rede-sign the existing infrastructu-re to make it accessible to all.

Street smart: Uniform designcould pave way for easy travel

ROCKY PATH: It is difficult for adisabled person to go anywherein the city

Photos: Anindya ChattopadhyayRisha.Chitlangia

@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Delhi high co-urt on Wednesday slammed thepolice for its probe into involve-ment of fellow cops in the custo-dial death of a youth in Nan Nag-ri area in September.

It also questioned why an SITformed by the police to investiga-te the charges of death in custo-dy repeatedly ignored a manwho claims to be an eyewitnessto the incident and wanted to de-pose.

“What kind of investigationare you conducting? I get the im-pression that investigation thusfar has focused on exoneratingthe policemen involved. It appe-ars to be focused on how to getthem off the hook,” Justice Sidd-harth Mridul told DCP RajivSharma, who heads the specialinvestigating team (SIT).

The court was perturbedthat SIT refused to even hear outthe claim of the witness. JusticeMridul immediately directedthe HC administration to takethe witness to the concerned chi-ef metropolitan magistrate inKarkardooma court and ensu-red his statement got recorded. Italso noted in its order that the ey-ewitness had called ACP Sukh-winder Singh after a public noti-ce was put out by SIT inviting in-formation from the people.

HC raps policeover custodialdeath probe

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Persons with dis-abilities (PwDs), their friendsand families will gather at In-dia Gate on Thursday to parti-cipate in the “NCPEDP-VeerWalk to Freedom.” The walk isbeing organised to celebrate 20years of the passage of the Per-sons with Disabilities Act,1995, and it will showcase thestrength in numbers of the dis-ability movement in India.

This is part of the three-day programme of the Natio-nal Centre for Promotion ofEmployment for Disabled Peo-ple (NCPEDP), which on Wed-nesday released a book “20 sto-ries of change” featuring 20PwDs who fought against oddsand strengthened the disabili-ty movement.

March toIndia Gatefor a cause

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

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Volume 66 No. 287.

In Fond Memory of

Lt. Col. Prem Nath Saluja

We miss your love, affection and laughter.You will always remainin our hearts and will bea source of inspiration.

Missed by: Pushpa Saluja (Wife) and Family.

In Loving Memory of

SMT. SUMITA DOVAL

02.11.1968- 03.12.2014

Your noble soul, humblelaughter, selfless loveand pious heart con-tinues to live with usforever. Ganesh Doval

(Husband), Jyotika (Daughter),Shubham(Son), M - 9818245566 All relatives and friends

Birthday Remembrance

LATE SH.B.L.SETIA

We never need a specialday to bring you to ourmind. Your absence, wefeel on every occasion ofour lives.

Happy Birthday Daddy Meena Setia & family

UTHALA

OBITUARY