Materials : Reference
DocumentsEconomic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Pathfinders:
Towards Full Participation and Equality of Persons with Disabilities in the ESCAP Region
Part 2 of 5 : Part 1 | Part
2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Social Policy Paper No. 2
PUBLIC AWARENESS ACCESSIBILITY AND COMMUNICATION
V. OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC AWARENESS, ACCESSIBILITY AND COMMUNICATION
One of the major achievements of the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons
(1983-1992) was an improvement in general public awareness of disability issues. However
general awareness without specific action to achieve necessary change can be a cause of
extreme and continuing frustration for people with disabilities. The right to equal
opportunity and full participation in the many activities of community and society becomes
meaningless if the barriers to its achievement are insurmountable. Nowhere is this more
clearly illustrated than in relation to the issue of physical accessibility, where the
means to move freely is essential.
The case study from Malaysia highlights the very significant fact that even where
legislation on accessibility and building codes and standards exist, they may not be
implemented.
Specific disability awareness training is needed. The target population must be the
people who make and implement the decisions, people in local government, and particularly
technical personnel with responsibility for designing the environments that we inhabit,
including the built environment.
This training, with its emphasis on experiential learning through simulation, altered
the way in which the participants viewed themselves as well as their understanding of the
daily challenges confronting people with disabilities. This case study was generated by a
disabled graduate of an ESCAP ten-month training programme, which was designed to build
the capacity of disabled persons as trainers for the promotion of non-handicapping
environments. Eighteen students were trained, with the capacity to organize national
training workshops for government officials and persons with disabilities on access
promotion in their own cities. An active network has been formed to facilitate continual
exchange of experiences and ideas, challenges and solutions, as they have become catalysts
for change and access promotion initiatives in the region.
The concept of barrier-free tourism reflects the rapid and irreversible shift in
thinking about disability issues. The issues concerning people with disabilities are the
same as those concerning non-disabled people. Solutions to the barriers erected by
society, which prevent some people from participating freely in the activities of their
choice, lie in altering the way in which the issues are addressed. The concept of
universal design, when widely implemented, will allow us to live in an environment, and
society, that is accessible to all.
The second case study calling for an accessible world reflects a spirit of
determination and continued unwavering advocacy to achieve the goal of accessible tourism
for people with disabilities. It provides an example of the power of highly motivated
disabled people to plan, organize and execute a strategy that has required technical
capability in terms of conducting an access audit, knowledge of the governmental system,
intensive use of the media, and the capacity to mobilize the tourism industry. The
detailed description of the steps taken, the success achieved, and the wide publicity
received, have provided an example that will almost certainly be followed by others.
VI. ACCESSIBILITY IN MALAYSIA: DISABILITY AWARENESS TRAINING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
TECHNICAL PERSONNEL [5]
A. The nature of the problem
At the beginning of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, in terms of
legislation pertaining to barrier-free access for persons with disability, Malaysia was
well advanced. It was more comparable to some developed countries than to other developing
countries in the region. By the time Malaysia had signed the “Proclamation on the
Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asia-Pacific
Region” on 16 May 1994, the Uniform Building By-Law 34A (UBBL) had passed through
Parliament in almost all states of West Malaysia. This by-law stipulated that, “all
new public buildings must be provided with access for the disabled persons”. The
by-law also referred to two Malaysian Standards that provided for the necessary codes of
practices for new buildings, to facilitate features for access into, out of and within the
buildings. The requirement for buildings built before this law had also been gazetted,
stating that existing facilities should be upgraded to comply with the standards within a
three year period.
It is clearly much easier for local government authorities to enforce controls for new
development, as planning approval is dependent upon the inclusion of such access features
as lifts, ramps and accessible toilets. A significant problem exists however, for
buildings constructed before the new law was introduced. Many have so far failed to
renovate their facilities to the required standards.
Part of the reason for this may be confusion among local government technical personnel
as to the exact requirements of the new by-law. Results of surveys done by the Ministry of
Housing and Local Government indicated that there is a “lack of understanding of
the requirements of by-law 34A UBBL among the technical officers at the local
authorities” and that “commitment from the council or its top management towards
this issue needs to be strengthened or emphasized”. [6]
This lack of understanding and awareness is demonstrated in the case of a private
company that refused to provide lifts in its light railway transit (LRT) stations. This
failure to implement accessibility requirements could only be the result of a lack of
awareness of the issue. When the LRT stations were completed in 1997, the Federal
Territory had already gazetted the UBBL 34A four years earlier, on 13 August 1993. Yet the
stations did not fully comply with by-law 34A UBBL. [7]
Examples such as the above not only indicate a lack of awareness, but perhaps even more
problematically, they indicate a lack of seriousness in certain sectors in meeting the
required provision of accessible features in public buildings. The LRT stations are not
the only example - it is a widespread phenomenon. At the regional level, United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) reports have found that
“even where guidelines and legislative measures exist, poor implementation and
enforcement remain serious issues”.
When analysing Malaysia’s limitations in implementing and enforcing legislation
pertaining to accessibility, disability awareness training is considered to be one
solution which would initiate the changes needed to increase awareness and commitment
starting at the local government level.
Apart from the 34A by-law, there is no other legislation in Malaysia relating to the
eradication of discriminatory practices for people with disabilities (except for some tax
exemption). The National Coordinating Council on Disability in Malaysia has not shown any
progress on any legislative matter since 1997, when it was first established after the
midpoint review on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons 1993-2002. Nor has
there been any noticeable multi-sector collaboration and coordination with the various
ministries on the 12 points in the agenda for action, which include national coordination
and legislation, education and employment.
This lack of progress again further emphasizes the need for disability awareness
training to be conducted to address the problems in implementing and introducing
legislative requirements for accessibility. This need is further backed up by the ESCAP
report on national coordination on disability released in 1999, which stated that for
technical personnel there should be “introduced a scheme to experience simulation
exercises with the guidance of disabled persons as resource persons”. [8]
B. Main features of the organization
Formed in 1998, Access Initiative Group is a working group of concerned individuals
working for the promotion of barrier-free environments. The group advocates for
barrier-free buildings and environs, each member working in a complementary role. One of
the concerned individuals of this group is the Director of the Building Control Division
of the Local Government Department, Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Other
members include architects, a rehabilitation specialist and a psychologist. Some of the
members hold at least vice-presidental posts within their respective self-help
organizations, making it easier for them to access and advocate to their equals –
high-ranking officials in the government sector.
Access Initiative Group has been involved in many seminars and conferences in various
sectors including education, employment, transport and accessibility. It has used its
expertise to advocate on behalf of children with disability, older persons and women with
young children.
In spite of the enactment of by-law 34A, there is still a great need for wider
community accessibility sensitization. In Malaysia, the profile of the disabled person is
still seen in the mode of someone needing charity and welfare. There has been no concerted
effort to create a national plan of action or put more money and resources into creating
concrete solutions to the problem of accessibility. The finger can be pointed both at the
Government and at disabled persons themselves, who have not come together more strongly to
either advocate for their rights or strategically articulate their concerns.
For this reason advocating for disability awareness training is in itself an important
activity. Advocacy activities such as this can be useful in spurring public and
governmental awareness to a level where concerns over accessibility would be naturally
embraced by all groups, including the administrative and planning systems. Disabled
persons could, and should, play a vital role in the implementation process of the
disability awareness training.
Disability awareness training as a concept is considered a fairly new phenomenon. It
has only been introduced into Malaysia in the past few years by disabled persons trained
under an ESCAP project. The concept has since been much applauded and such training
programmes have been enthusiastically received by sections of the government sector.
However disability awareness training at present is an ad hoc and informal programme of
activities. It is based on loose partnerships between the trainers, who are mostly
disabled persons, and their local government counterparts. Hence, it is essential to
include not just local government training personnel but, even more important, the
technical personnel in local government. Unless a concerted effort is made to integrate
disability training modules into mainstream training, the chain-reaction effect will be
slow.
If the target of the training is technical personnel in local government, then the
training should be designed to complement existing efforts and questions on accessibility.
But it needs to be done in a sustained and intensive manner. Disability awareness is not
achievable unless the trainee undergoes a simulated experience, of long enough duration
and with enough impact for the development of the sense of being disabled. The trainee
must become aware that the frustration experienced by lack of accessibility is not just
connected to physical barriers but also the emotions that result from continued and
sustained exposure to these barriers. Physical barriers impact on a person’s
perspective, experience, sensitivities and prejudices. These factors need time to be
addressed and short training courses do not provide enough time for such in-depth
reassessment of one’s experience of the physical world.
Disability awareness training courses have been conducted twice in Malaysia. Each
course involved local government technical personnel, such as architects, engineers,
planners, technicians and building inspectors. There are two main reasons for the
targeting of individuals within local government with this expertise - one is that
technical personnel are essential to the actual implementation process of making the
cities and buildings barrier-free. The other is that they often work at the level that may
be described as the interface of the organizational and operational structure of local
government. Dealing with the public is a major component of their job responsibilities,
they are responsible for checking planning and building submissions, making inspections
and visiting sites of newly constructed buildings.
The other group to target is disabled persons themselves, who must be trained and ready
to be part of the cadre of trainers to initiate ongoing disability awareness training. The
training in and of itself provides a strategic way to advocate for, and promote,
barrier-free environments.
In 1998, ESCAP embarked on a series of training-of-trainers workshops in the region.
Two Access Initiative Group members participated in the training programme conducted in
Penang, Malaysia in November 1998. Group members also attended the Regional Training of
Trainers Course on the Promotion of Non-handicapping Environment in Bangkok (sponsored by
ESCAP, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Government of Thailand) in Bangkok
in March 2000. This training was a major turning point in the campaign for accessibility
training. At this training conference, disabled persons not from the government mixed with
those from government offices, such as architects, town-planners, engineers and other
public administration personnel throughout the whole of the Asian and Pacific region.
The training provided a strong skills foundation for the members of Access Initiative
Group. In November 2000, the group subsequently conducted its own training on disability
awareness for technical personnel in local government in Malaysia. Two training sessions
were held, one in November 2000 in Petaling Jaya, and a second in July 2001 in Penang.
Both courses focused specifically on disability awareness training and consisted of
three major exercises with varying inputs in between. The three major exercises were:
• Sharing experience or recognizing barriers;
• Disability simulation exercise to experience the user’s needs;
• Access surveys as a tool for evaluating access to and within buildings.
1. Recognizing Barriers
The exercise on recognizing barriers was used to “break the ice” and help the
participants to express what they feel (not think) about disability and handicap. [9] It was a difficult exercise to do, and required a conscious and
sensitive effort on behalf of the trainers to facilitate the understanding of participants
to a level where they could empathize with the experience of a disabled person.
In this module, participants were asked to express through drawings or written words
the feelings they related to words placed in front of them. The words were either
“PERSONS” or “DISABLED PERSONS”. In all cases participants who were
not disabled, when responding to the latter would evoke feelings of despair and negativity
associated with charity, welfare, inadequacy and lack of ability. These perceptions reveal
that many of the barriers that disabled persons face are brought about by negative
attitudes prevalent among decision makers and policy makers.
2. Disability simulation exercise to experience the user’s needs
The disability simulation exercise would commence after first focusing on terminology.
For example, if one of the participants used the word “normal” rather than
“non-disabled”, such selective usage would be corrected. A terminology list was
distributed to participants.
The actual disability simulation exercise began with an explanation on how to assist a
wheelchair user or a visually impaired person. Equipment was used to simulate a variety of
disabilities, such as blindness, partial-blindness, inability to use one or both legs,
deafness and stiff joints. The participants took a designated route where they moved
together in a group. They were expected to experience different disabilities during the
course of the exercise.
It was observed that there was a certain reluctance by the senior male officers to use
the blindfold and wheelchairs during the Penang training course. It was concluded this was
due to the senior male officers being embarrassed in a familiar venue, as the training was
conducted in a Shopping Complex near their offices.
Figure 4. Trainees need help to use a steep access ramp at MPPJ Tower,
Petaling Jaya (The ramp goes straight out onto a road)
This site was chosen for its convenience and closeness to the place of work of the
participants. But choosing this site proved to be a mistake as it did not take into
consideration other factors that influence the feelings, perceptions and sensitivities of
the participants.
While in many developed countries awareness training is not considered productive to
the cause of people with disability, arguably in developing countries, where there is a
lack of legislative and implementation mechanisms, and a lack of resources and expertise,
it is imperative to use whatever means are available to conduct training.
In many developed nations accessibility training has achieved specialization status.
Malaysia, however is still at the community level in this area, and the idea of
accessibility training has not been taken up in any concerted manner by local government
or planning authorities. Therefore, at this stage awareness training is very useful as a
means to market accessibility and to convince government officials.
3. Access surveys as a tool for evaluating access to and within buildings
Access Initiative Group sees itself as similar to a band of concerned citizens willing
to work in a voluntary and ad hoc basis with any local or federal government agencies in
pursuance of a barrier-free objective. Whereas in developed countries there is a
state-designated organization that oversees the performance of access audits by certified
auditors, in Malaysia, the surveys are done by volunteers and as such are being taught as
the least important module of training for the technical personnel in local government.
Collaboration involving disabled persons as resource persons and trainers with their
counterparts in local government resulted in an isolated access survey exercise conducted
in June 2000. It was later incorporated into the disability simulation exercise and
training held in November 2000 in Petaling Jaya. Subsequently, another access survey,
together with another disability simulation exercise, was conducted in July 2001 in
Penang. The access survey training provided participants with a set of tools that would
allow them to assert their skills in evaluating the built environment. On completion of
the training they were able to measure the building they entered against Malaysia’s
code of practice or guidelines of preferred measurements. As this is what the participants
have to deal with in most of their work, all of the trainers and facilitators thought this
to be the most important module.
Access surveys are easy enough to conduct. One simply needs to go through the premises
and measure and enter the information gathered onto the access survey forms. This
information in turn will be gathered and formulated in such a way as to turn it into an
audit by providing another column to ascertain the costs of any additions or installations
needed to improve accessibility to meet the government guidelines. The building owners in
turn, are able to find out how much such changes would cost and can then decide on the
basis of such whether they are prepared to incorporate such costs into their annual
budget.
Figure 5. Trainees measure a ramp’s gradient to see whether it
complies with Malaysia’s Code of Practice and Guidelines
C. Achievements
Twenty people attended the first training course in Petaling Jaya. At least half were
from local government offices and consisted mainly of technicians, architects and
engineers. It was also attended by medical officers, occupational therapists and
physiotherapists. Although many of the participants thought the course was too short, most
thought it was extremely worthwhile, particularly the simulation exercise.
For the second workshop in Penang, 52 participants attended. Most were from the target
group, that is, civil servants involved in the design and regulation of new and existing
buildings in the local council area. Participants included planners, architects,
engineers, surveyors, building inspectors, legal advisors, and technical and
administrative personnel. There were also participants from property management consultant
firms, the hotel sector, the local hospital, the university and organizations of and for
disabled persons.
These disability awareness training courses helped establish a relationship between
Access Initiative Group trainers and their counterparts in local government. This new
partnership paved the way for a more concerted effort to be made to promote a
non-handicapping environment. It has led to the formation of a local authority to start a
Barrier-free City programme. The Petaling Jaya Barrier Free City Programme is one of the
first examples.
Since the beginning of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
Malaysia’s commitment to the regional vision of an Agenda for Action has gradually
developed, most notably in the last half of the decade. Arguably, it would have been much
more difficult to advocate for that vision if disability awareness training had not been
introduced to the local government personnel. Since the training, other local government,
professional and private agencies have made inquiries into the programmes.
Although there are still many shortcomings, these two training courses have made a
strong impression on the participants, many of whom are directly responsible for
overseeing the implementation of by-law 34A.
D. Key lessons learned
Many participants expressed their satisfaction at having gone through the training
course, and expressed interest in being part of future training courses if given the
opportunity. As positive as this result is, it must also be considered whether this
response reflects a shortcoming in the training, whereby more training is needed to
comprehend the issue.
Another option would be to design an additional module further developing the
barrier-experiential component of the training. This additional component may increase
participants’ comprehension and assimilation of the experience of disability. It
would be opportune if the workshop could be conducted over a longer timeframe. It would be
beneficial to tailor some programmes to architects and designers exclusively, to test for
the competence in accessible design and to introduce the concept of Universal Design.
Another important aspect of the disability simulation exercise and access survey
modules is that they provide essential experience of the user. This allows the designer to
appreciate the problems that the user would face. The usefulness and impact of the module
on recognizing barriers is still being debated among the trainers in Malaysia, owing to
the limited amount of time most local government officers are prepared to devote to
training.
Disability awareness training and, in particular, the disability simulation exercise
provides an element of knowing oneself. It stays in the mind and heart longer than most of
the other exercises purely because it has the confrontational aspect of recognizing
barriers to contend with oneself.
The element of fear and being helpless can be translated into an in-depth understanding
of disability, where one can recognize that it is barriers rather than disability that
impedes the access of people with disability to buildings. Inaccessibility is the result
of buildings and physical features that have been designed incorrectly, rather than a
person’s disability.
E. Sustainability
Disability awareness training is one way to achieve a sustainable solution to creating
a barrier-free environment, and it is a very “Asian” solution. Culturally,
Asians are taught from a young age to care for their elders and those who are less
fortunate. The shame of being considered uncaring is not something public administration
personnel like to be made to feel. In fact, the policy of a caring society had been
formulated into the country’s Vision 2020 and other national government policies.
Other ideas, such as incorporating access officers in the local government, have been
suggested by a senior government officer in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
An Access Officer [10] post should be created in each local
government building or planning department. This would subsequently ensure the
administration adopts procedures such as access audits and surveys of newly built
premises, and they could also monitor those buildings built after the by-laws had been
gazetted.
For buildings built before by-law 34A was introduced, individuals and organizations for
people with disability could provide assistance in revisiting and doing post-mortem access
surveys. These would be crucial in dealing with the issue of non-conformity with the
legislative requirements, particularly for buildings and premises that provide for
everyday needs such as railways stations, light-rail transit stations, banks, post
offices, supermarkets, and government buildings that serve the public.
The idea that persons with disability must be trained and be part of the cadre of
trainers initiating disability awareness training is practical in building up a body of
appropriately trained individuals. It is also a strategic way to advocate the issues and
promote barrier-free environments. However, the most obvious challenge at the moment to
the sustainability of efforts to create an accessible environment is that there are only a
few trainers with few resources.
Holmes-Siedle, in referring to the British model for accessibility training, which is
called Disability Equality Training, explains that, “This type of training employs
only qualified disabled trainers and explores the issues of disability from society’s
attitudes to the historical models of disability. Participants are encouraged to examine
issues related to disability so that they can better experience it”. [11] The key words here are “employ” and
“encourage”. In order for the training to be sustained or to have any real
impact in the future, it is urgently required that the idea of such a team be proposed to
the Ministry of Human Resources or the relevant ministries. This employment and
encouragement is what is needed to sustain this training.
VII. LET’S MAKE THE WORLD ACCESSIBLE: BARRIER-FREE TOURISM IN INDIA [12]
A. The nature of the problem
People with disability in India have equal right of access to all tourism
infrastructure, products and services, including employment opportunities and all other
benefits that the tourism industry can provide. Inclusion of the principle of universal
access to tourism infrastructure also benefits many other groups, including older persons
and families with young children and expecting mothers. Thus, the spirit of barrier-free
tourism means the reduction of physical and non-physical barriers for all.
In India at the beginning of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons in 1993
there was still a long way to go to realize this promise of barrier-free tourism and
universal access. None of India’s tourist destinations were easily accessible to
people with disability. No government agencies (including the Department of Tourism), NGOs
or tour service providers considered people with disabilities as potential customers.
B. Main features of the organization
Samarthya was founded in 1996 by Anjlee Agarwal and Sanjeev Sachdeva. Samarthya roughly
translates as “capability” and its objectives initially were simply to organize
trips and outings for extensively disabled people. Both Sanjeev and Anjlee have muscular
dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes the gradual disintegration of the nervous
system, eventually reducing mobility and muscular control. Their goal in establishing
Samarthya was to instill confidence, give carers and family some time off, and to
sensitize and create awareness about disability related issues including accessibility.
Learning from sometimes painful experience Sanjeev and Anjlee were aware that many of
India’s most popular tourist sites were seriously lacking in accessibility for people
with disabilities. Samarthya's motto is “let's make the world accessible” and
over the years the group has organized 33 awareness-cum-excursion trips to places of
historical, cultural, religious and tourist interest.
In September 2000, Samarthya was invited to take part in a “Workshop on Accessible
Tourism” held in Bali, Indonesia. The Workshop was held in conjunction with the first
ever Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for People with Disability. The Workshop made a
number of recommendations and adopted the Bali Declaration for Promoting Barrier-Free
Tourism in the ESCAP Region.
The confidence gained at the Conference in Bali, and the resulting morale boost, gave
impetus to Samarthya to take up the issue of barrier-free tourism with vigour with the
Indian Ministry of Tourism and Culture. As a first step the Bali Declaration was presented
in person to the Additional Director-General (Tourism), with the suggestion to make at
least one tourist spot and hotel in each state accessible for all.
The group had also hoped to increase accessibility at the Taj Mahal at Agra,
India’s most popular tourist site with both domestic and international tourists. In
conjunction with increased accessibility, they also hoped to create awareness and promote
the concept of barrier-free tourism. Unfortunately the heritage status of the Taj
prohibited modification on or within the site, so a secondary site was chosen. Samarthya's
core group selected Dilli Haat as its pilot project.
Set up in 1994, Dilli Haat is a joint venture between Delhi Tourism, the Department of
Tourism, DC Handlooms and Handicrafts and the Ministry of Textiles. It is spread out over
six acres, set amidst idyllic environs that attempt to mimic the rural ambience of a
traditional Indian little “Haat” or a weekly village market. It has high
visibility, situated close to a nodal centre and one of the busiest intersections in the
city. It was conceived to be a multi-purpose, cultural complex where artisans from all
over the country could come to display and sell unique and ethnic products from 62
permanent stalls. It houses 16 large and 9 small food stalls managed by various State
Tourism Departments. Regional festivals are also organized here.
On the basis of ticket sales for three months it was found that 180,000 domestic as
well as foreign tourists visit Dilli Haat every month. Making Dilli Haat accessible for
all would mean spreading the message to other parts of the country as well.
In December 2000, with the consent of Dilli Haat officials, Samarthya's access audit
team comprising people with diverse disabilities conducted an audit of the Haat. It
brought its own checklist. The audit included inspecting the existing architectural plan
of the complex, and the team identified the problem areas and suggested possible
solutions.
Figure 6. Samarthya members conduct an access audit of Dilli Haat
Prior to the efforts of Samarthya, Dilli Haat had made no attempts to make itself
barrier-free. Its accessibility by people with disability was extremely limited. There was
no designated parking lot for people with disability, while the exiting ramps near the
parking lot were steep and without handrails. To reach the ticketing box from the car
park, rough and uneven stone flooring had to be crossed, and then two steps had to be
climbed to reach the ticket counter, whose window was too high to be reached by a person
in a wheelchair.
Inside the Haat there was again uneven flooring and steps. Most of the pavilions and
courts had steps leading up into them as did the beginning and end of corridors. Often the
ramp provided over the stairs for wheelchair access was too steep. In the toilet block,
possibly owing to lack of space, the wheelchair ramp was also placed at too steep an
angle. Once inside the toilet block there were no toilets actually accessible by
wheelchair, while the opening near the toilet cubicles was unprotected.
In the food court and food stalls, level differences in flooring near the stalls posed
difficulties for people with disability, as did the sunken design of the food court. In
the international dining hall there were two steps each on the left and right side.
On completion of the audit a detailed report containing photographs, the Centre for
Public Works Department (CPWD) guidelines (1998) and the ESCAP Promotion of
Non-Handicapping Barrier-Free Environment Guidelines were presented to the Founder and
Architect of Dilli Haat. He was also given guiding blocks to aide visually impaired
persons. He has submitted all the drawings for modifications to the site to the Ministry
of Delhi Tourism. The estimated cost of making Dilli Haat accessible to people with
disability is about one million rupee. The proposed modification has been agreed upon and
the work will be done in phases.
On 7 June 2001, at a meeting on “Tourism in Delhi - Problems and Prospects”,
Samarthya discussed the issue of modifications to Dilli Haat with the Honorable Chief
Minister of Delhi. The Chief Minister gave her approval on the spot. A month later the
Dilli Haat architect was informed that the plan had been formally approved. Work on Dilli
Haat was expected to commence in September, 2001.
C. Achievements
The efforts of Samarthya were not limited to Dilli Haat. Samarthya has organized two
three-day visits to places of religious interest. In May 2001 the group also conducted an
awareness raising tour of several cities in the State of Himachal Pradesh. The group,
which included three Samarthya members with muscular dystrophy, one member with cerebral
palsy and one visually impaired member, promoted the slogan “Barrier-free tourism for
people with disability”. The tour focused on access and the group gave suggestions
along with the CPWD guidelines to tourism authorities in each of the cities.
The Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) was also approached by members of
Samarthya. They suggested that it should make its entrances barrier-free and one room in
every hostel accessible for people with disability. The National Chairman of YHAI accepted
this suggestion and, as a beginning, has approved the provision of a ramp and lift at the
International Youth Hostel in New Delhi.
Samarthya has also conducted access audits of commercial buildings, including fast food
chains, a computer centre and a cinema theatre complex. The audit team comprised members
of Samarthya, a photographer and an architect. The problem areas were identified and
suggestions along with design plans were sent to the management concerned. The fast food
chains responded positively and one has requested costing for the suggested changes. The
other is now considering introducing Braille menus for visually impaired persons.
Figure 7. Samarthya group members on a tour to Solan, Himachal Pradesh
All these efforts have received a great deal of positive media coverage with regular
articles in all of India’s daily national papers. The result is an overall increased
awareness of the issue of accessibility within the community, the commercial sector and
the Government. In fact the Director General Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has now
publicly acknowledged the importance of creating access for all. In March 2001 she issued
an order that all historical monuments be made accessible to people with disability.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Chief Commissioner for Persons
for Disabilities has also taken up the challenge of accessibility. In a letter to
Samarthya he acknowledged the “enormous problems of persons with disabilities due to
inaccessibility in most of the public and private sections”. In June 2001 the Chief
Commissioner embarked on a project to create barrier-free environments and established a
National Core Access Committee to oversee the project. Samarthya founders Sanjeev Sachdeva
and Anjlee Agarwal have been appointed to the committee and requested to conduct access
audits in Delhi and other states.
D. Key lessons learned
Boosted by the Dilli Haat initiative Samarthya decided to conduct an access audit of
Safdarjung Tomb. Safdarjung Tomb is only 1 kilometre from Dilli Haat and also houses the
office of Superintendent Archaeologist for Delhi Circle. Safdarjung Tomb was one of the
sites visited by renowned scientist Stephen Hawking during a trip to India. Mr Hawking has
been paralysed since early adulthood with the degenerative nerve disease ALS and uses a
wheelchair. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) received a great deal of media
criticism following the visit of Mr Hawking to the tomb over the lack of accessibility of
the site. The Superintendent Archaeologist admitted that ASI did not fully realize the
problems faced by people with disability. He also pointed out however, that nobody had
approached them with details of their requirements or offered cooperation and suggestions
on how accessibility should be improved for people with disability.
During the audit this matter was discussed with him, and he welcomed Samarthya’s
suggestions on how to make the toilets more disability friendly. It was also suggested to
have Braille plates describing the history of the monument, which the National Federation
of the Blind has offered to help facilitate. The meeting also prompted a realization in
Samarthya that government could not be expected to do everything on its own. There should
be a partnership, a shared responsibility with individuals and NGOs ensuring that the
Government and relevant agencies are made aware of their specific needs and requirements.
They should also make efforts to offer possible solutions. For example during
Samarthya’s access audit of Safdarjung Tomb, the architect of Dilli Haat made a
drawing of an accessible toilet within the existing cubicle space.
Another point that was highlighted during the visit of Mr Hawking was the power of the
media. During its coverage of Mr Hawking’s visit the media were powerful champions of
the cause of people with disability. They also have the ability to raise public awareness
of the rights of people with disability, not to mention specific actions needed to ensure
the fulfillment of these rights.
The media have also proved useful in highlighting the constructive work being done by
Dilli Haat’s architect and Delhi Tourism Officials in making Dilli Haat the first
ever disability friendly tourist spot in the nation. The news items generated public
awareness and discussion of accessibility issues, making it easier to gain support for the
project at all levels.
E. Sustainability
The Dilli Haat project has created public awareness of accessibility. Once the existing
Haat becomes barrier-free it will set an example for other States to follow. Delhi Tourism
is planning to develop “Dilli Haat” in Shahdra (East Delhi) and Janak Puri (West
Delhi) on the lines of the existing Haat in South Delhi. The Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD) has even reportedly put up a plan with Ministry of Urban Affairs for making an
accessible Haat in the Old Delhi area. The architect of Dilli Haat has also been asked to
develop the “Garden of Five Senses”, a Delhi Tourism project spread over 20
acres of land in South Delhi, making sure that it is barrier-free for people with
disability.
During the entire process it was found that an attitude of cooperation and not
confrontation should be the basic approach. Samarthya has experienced that in campaigning
for modifications to sites, clarity and consensus on the main concerns, offering solutions
and the involvement of an architect with a key role in the design of the site, as well as
follow up of the plan with the concerned authorities, is the best way to achieve positive
results and pave the way for promotion of barrier-free tourism all across the country.
NOTES
5 Based on a paper prepared by Naziaty Mohd Yaacob,
Department of Architecture, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
6 Ir Fong Tian Yong, 1999. Non-Handicapping Environment
for Persons with Disabilities – The Legislation and Implementation (Kuala Lumpur,
Building Control Division, Ministry of Housing and Local Government).
7 Newspaper article, 1997.
8 ESCAP Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons:
mid-point ~ regional perspectives on multisectoral collaboration and national
coordination, New York, United Nations, 1999.
9 Disability is a physical or psychological or mental state of being.
Handicap is the interaction of the disability with the physical or attitudinal
environment. (James Holmes-Siedle, Barrier-free Design: A manual for building designers
and managers, Oxford, Butterworth Architecture, 1996).
10 These are normally based in the planning department or
the Chief Executive’s Office of the Local Council. An Access Officer is given the
task of implementing equal opportunities where they relate to disabled people, across a
council’s services. (James Holmes-Siedle, Barrier-free Design: A manual for
building designers and managers, Oxford, Butterworth Architecture, 1996)
11 Ibid, p. 20.
12 Based on a paper prepared by Anjlee Agarwal and Sanjeev
Sachdeva, Samarthya, New Delhi, India.
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