A total of 1,314 Government-owned public buildings in States and Union Territories identified during access audits have been made accessible for Divyangjans (differently-abled persons) under the Accessible India Campaign, according to Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment B.L. Verma.
Responding to an unstarred question from Villupuram Member of Parliament D. Ravikumar, Mr. Verma said the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had completed retrofitting of 211 buildings of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and 889 buildings of other departments/Ministries.
All the 35 international airports and 55 domestic airports have been provided with accessibility facilities like ramps, toilets and lifts. In addition, all the 709 A 1, A and B categories of railway stations have been provided with many short-term facilities, like ramps, toilets, lifts, helpdesk, parking, non-slippery walkways and drinking water facilities.
Over 42,000 buses have been made partially accessible and 8,695 buses are fully accessible. Out of 3,533 bus stations, 3,120 have been made accessible across the country, the Minister said.
Mr. Verma said the Indian Railways had also notified the guidelines on accessibility of Indian Railway stations and facilities at stations for differently-abled persons, which includes provisions, such as entrance ramps, accessible parking, low height ticket counter/help booths, toilets, drinking water booths, sub-ways/foot-over bridges with ramps/lifts, standard signages, including braille signages and tactile pathways.
To another question by Mr. Ravikumar, Mr. Verma said that a third-party evaluation of the implementation of the Accessible India Campaign revealed a positive attitudinal change amongst government functionaries and general public towards the right of persons with disabilities to safe and easy access to public places.
Published – February 13, 2025 09:15 pm IST
