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Audit spells out accessibility quotient

Audit Spells out Accessibility quotient

Publication: The Times Of India Pune; Date: May 14, 2012; Section: Times City; Page: 2

Neha Madaan | TNN 

Pune: Svayam, a Delhi-based NGO, that works to make public places accessible for the elderly and the disabled, plans to undertake an audit of Ajanta and Ellora caves, as well as other ticketed monuments in the Aurangabad circle including Bibi ka Maqbara, Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad Group of caves and Padavlena caves in Nashik. 

    Svayam, which had earlier signed a memorandum with ASI to help them make their sites in Delhi, Agra and Goa accessible, will gradually move to other sites in Maharashtra. Qutub Minar, the first monument that Svayam audited, became the first heritage monument to be made accessible by ASI. Red Fort, Taj Mahal and Lal Quila, among others, have also been audited by the Svayam team. 

    Abha Negi, director of Svayam, an initiative of the SJ Charitable Trust, said, “We have been working with ASI as consultants for six years and are currently undertaking the incorporation of accessibility features in a phased manner. We started with trainings of those involved in maintaining the world heritage sites— engineers as well as contractors— before undertaking interventions at different sites.” 

    “It showed that the disabled and elderly have a right to expect dignified and comfortable access to and within these heritage sites and buildings,” she added. In the past, Svayam has also participated whereever possible in audits of Agra fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Taj Mahal. 

    Svayam had also conducted a series of trainings with ASI engineers and contractors. “These trainings ensured appreciation of user requirements, as opposed to theoretical design prescriptions and guidelines, thereby eliciting an appropriate response followed by required desired action. A host of issues need to be kept in mind while making a heritage site accessible, right from arrival and site access, entrance and entrance gates, change in levels, thresholds, steps, incline of steps, to steep inclines, kissing gates and stiles, historic ground surfaces, surface finishes and other physical features. Staff awareness is also important,” Negi said. 

    An audit said, “An access audit process involves observing the building/ heritage site complex from the perspective of its usability by children, disabled, elderly and women. A team of professionals, user groups and trained volunteers form the audit team. They take photographs, measurements and audit the property from the perspective of not only a physically disabled person, but also blind visitors, those with low vision or with hearing impairment or with psycho-social disabilities,” Sminu Jindal, chairperson of Svayam, said. 

    The team audits each area of the complex which includes the monument’s website, parking, ticket counters/ information kiosks, toilets/amenities (drinking water facilities etc), approach ways and access route to and around the monument and to major attractions within the monument, canteens/eating joints or refreshment areas/ souvenir shop/counter, and museum/interpretation centre/ libraries. 

    Other aspects audited include level differences that create barriers for smooth mobility and safety of visitors, directional and informational signages at the entrance, parking and all other areas frequented or likely to be frequented by visitors, mobility equipment (if available) and topography/level changes in the complex. 

    Access features are suggested with the archaeological norms in mind. “We ensure that the intervention gels with the overall aesthetics of the monument and does not stand out like a sore thumb. Also the whole objective is to make the site ‘visitable’ by a wide range of people without interfering with the nature and architecture of the monument. Thirdly, we also ensure that there is no damage to the monument while implementing the suggestions for improving accessibility. Ramps and other features supplementing the accessibility are temporary structures and not grouted,” she added. 

    When it becomes essential, the team suggests minimum grouting required for the safety and proper securing of the equipment/lift wherever needed. “However, it is difficult to generalize the access solutions at all heritage sites since each differ in its characteristics, topography, architecture, usage and climatic conditions. If the area is too big, we suggest mobility solutions such as wheelchairs, carts that are run on battery and are non-polluting,” she said. 

    An official from ASI’s headquarters in Delhi said, “Barrier-free features in monuments across the country is a continuous process. Toilets at major monuments across the country will be made barrierfree with easy wheelchair maneuvering. The barrier-free initiative will also be applied to monuments in Maharashtra.” 

    INCLUSIVE HERITAGE SITES WORLD OVER 

  • Edinburgh Castle in Scotland has a stair lift alongside a temporary ramp that is in use in the castle’s Great Hall 
  • Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland has a permanent ramp 
  • The Caves of Jerusalem have been made accessible by installing platform lifts 
  • King Ludwig’s fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein, in Germany, has an elevator for people with disabilities to access all the towers and different levels of the castle 


SHANIWARWADA: SOON TO BE ACCESIBLE TO ALL 


The Qutub Minar was the first heritage monument in the country to be made accessible for the elderly and the disabled 

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Svayam will conduct Access Audit of Heritage sites under Aurangabad Circle of ASI

Dear Colleagues,

Below is the feature from Times of India, Pune by Ms. Neha Madaan, a well known feature writer who has been closely following such issues.

After audit, Ajanta, Ellora caves may become more accessible

Neha Madaan, TNN | May 14, 2012, 12.56AM IST

PUNE: Svayam, a Delhi-based NGO, that works to make public places accessible for the elderly and the disabled, plans to undertake an audit of Ajanta and Ellora caves, as well as other ticketed monuments in the Aurangabad circle including Bibi ka Maqbara, Daulatabad Fort, Aurangabad Group of caves and Padavlena caves in Nashik. Svayam, which had earlier signed a memorandum with ASI to help them make their sites in Delhi, Agra and Goa accessible, will gradually move to other sites in Maharashtra. Qutub Minar, the first monument that Svayam audited, became the first heritage monument to be made accessible by ASI. Red Fort, Taj Mahal and Lal Quila, among others, have also been audited by the Svayam team.

Abha Negi, director of Svayam, an initiative of the SJ Charitable Trust, said, “We have been working with ASI as consultants for six years and are currently undertaking the incorporation of accessibility features in a phased manner. We started with trainings of those involved in maintaining the world heritage sites- engineers as well as contractors- before undertaking interventions at different sites.”

“It showed that the disabled and elderly have a right to expect dignified and comfortable access to and within these heritage sites and buildings,” she added. In the past, Svayam has also participated whereever possible in audits of Agra fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Taj Mahal.

Svayam had also conducted a series of trainings with ASI engineers and contractors. “These trainings ensured appreciation of user requirements, as opposed to theoretical design prescriptions and guidelines, thereby eliciting an appropriate response followed by required desired action. A host of issues need to be kept in mind while making a heritage site accessible, right from arrival and site access, entrance and entrance gates, change in levels, thresholds, steps, incline of steps, to steep inclines, kissing gates and stiles, historic ground surfaces, surface finishes and other physical features. Staff awareness is also important,” Negi said.

An audit said, “An access audit process involves observing the building/ heritage site complex from the perspective of its usability by children, disabled, elderly and women. A team of professionals, user groups and trained volunteers form the audit team. They take photographs, measurements and audit the property from the perspective of not only a physically disabled person, but also blind visitors, those with low vision or with hearing impairment or with psycho-social disabilities,” Sminu Jindal, chairperson of Svayam, said.

The team audits each area of the complex which includes the monument’s website, parking, ticket counters/ information kiosks, toilets/amenities (drinking water facilities etc), approach ways and access route to and around the monument and to major attractions within the monument, canteens/eating joints or refreshment areas/ souvenir shop/counter, and museum/interpretation centre/ libraries.

Other aspects audited include level differences that create barriers for smooth mobility and safety of visitors, directional and informational signages at the entrance, parking and all other areas frequented or likely to be frequented by visitors, mobility equipment (if available) and topography/level changes in the complex.

Access features are suggested with the archaeological norms in mind. “We ensure that the intervention gels with the overall aesthetics of the monument and does not stand out like a sore thumb. Also the whole objective is to make the site ‘visitable’ by a wide range of people without interfering with the nature and architecture of the monument. Thirdly, we also ensure that there is no damage to the monument while implementing the suggestions for improving accessibility. Ramps and other features supplementing the accessibility are temporary structures and not grouted,” she added.

When it becomes essential, the team suggests minimum grouting required for the safety and proper securing of the equipment/lift wherever needed. “However, it is difficult to generalize the access solutions at all heritage sites since each differ in its characteristics, topography, architecture, usage and climatic conditions. If the area is too big, we suggest mobility solutions such as wheelchairs, carts that are run on battery and are non-polluting,” she said.

An official from ASI’s headquarters in Delhi said, “Barrier-free features in monuments across the country is a continuous process. Toilets at major monuments across the country will be made barrier-free with easy wheelchair maneuvering. The barrier-free initiative will also be applied to monuments in Maharashtra.”

Inclusive heritage sites world over

Edinburgh Castle in Scotland has a stair lift alongside a temporary ramp that is in use in the castle’s Great Hall

Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland has a permanent ramp

The Caves of Jerusalem have been made accessible by installing platform lifts

King Ludwig’s fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein, in Germany, has an elevator for people with disabilities to access all the towers and different levels of the castle

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Chennai Metro will be barrier-free: CMRL

Source: The Hindu
MEERA SRINIVASAN

Chennai: Decision was taken in response to suggestions given by Disability Rights Alliance – Tamil Nadu

Persons with disability will have comfortable access to metro stations and trains, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said on Saturday.

According to an official of the CMRL, all metro stations will have signage within and outside the station to guide users. A dedicated parking space will be provided to persons with disability, subject to space availability. Non-slippery flooring and well-lit passages will be provided.

INCLUSIVE PATH? Access audits shared by the Disability Rights Alliance with CMRL showed Delhi Metro as having missed out on some crucial aspects in making the service accessible to persons with disability. Chennai Metro, however, has a chance to address the requirements in its upcoming facilities such as this one near the depot in Koyambedu, where tracks are being laid currently. Photo: S. S. Kumar
“We will make sure that the stations enable free movement. Tactile tiles will be provided to help persons with disability access functional areas and platforms,” the official told The Hindu.

The decision to make such provisions comes in response to suggestions made by the Disability Rights Alliance–Tamil Nadu (DRA), which has been in dialogue with the CMRL since January this year. Members had shared details of some best practices, in addition to highlighting the shortcomings in the existing metro network in New Delhi. CMRL had told the DRA that engineers and those involved in finalising the station designs would get back with details of what provisions will be made in the metro stations in Chennai.

The stations will have bumpy tiles to alert users with visual impairment, before nearing the edge of the platform. The toilets will be made accessible, and the ticket counters will be positioned at a convenient height. Induction loops at ticket counters for hearing-impaired passengers, a uniform terminal design, ramps with adequate landing space and staircases with handrails are among the other provisions promised. “The elevators will be accessible, with grip rails on three sides, audio announcements and buttons in Braille.”

The CMRL has also said that wheelchair users and mobility-impaired persons would not require ridging or lifting devices to get into the coaches. Also, a wheelchair egress request signal shall be provided, which will enable a passenger in any car of a metro train to alert the operator to stop the car for a prolonged time to enable wheelchair users to get off the train.

The provisions, according to CMRL, are in compliance with the ‘Guidelines and Space standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for Disabled and Elderly Persons’ evolved by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Members of DRA-TN said while the provisions were considerate, it would be important for the CMRL to supplement the guidelines with recommendations in the manual for standards and specifications for railway stations – June 2009, a Railway Board reference document, because the guidelines issued by the Ministry were not been updated after 1998.

Vaishnavi Jayakumar, a DRA member, said: “Also, in the absence of an in-house accessibility consultant, the CMRL could share its plans with an access consultant for comments.”

Rajiv Rajan, another member, said it arrangements for emergencies should also be made known. “Will the CMRL train its staff to deal with passengers with disability? That is vital,” he said. Acknowledging the provisions as a “good start”, DRA members said Chennai metro can be considered truly progressive and sensitive when it takes into account more such factors.

Ms. Jayakumar said: “It would be really nice when persons with disability can find out about the provisions being made for them, when the CMRL website itself is made accessible to them.”

Source: The Hindu

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Disability Rights alliance calls to make Chennai Metro Rail accessible

Call to make Metro Rail disabled-friendly

CHENNAI, INDIA: Over the next few weeks, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has a rather important task on hand. It will have to respond to a set of suggestions presented by the Disability Rights Alliance–Tamil Nadu (DRA), indicating which of their recommendations will be incorporated into the facility.

From January this year, DRA, an open, cross-disability collective has been talking to CMRL regarding the inclusion of features that would ensure easy access to all commuters. After sharing details of international best practices with CMRL in a series of meetings over the past two months, DRA members presented additional inputs on shortcomings in the Delhi Metro to managing director of CMRL K. Rajaraman, on Monday.

Member of the alliance and disability rights activist Rajiv Rajan said features that ensure a barrier-free environment have to be factored in at the planning stage itself. “These are not facilities that can be provided in retrospect. You have to take them into consideration well in advance,” he said.

Observing that most railway stations in Chennai are hardly accessible for people with disabilities, Mr. Rajan said: “Not one station meets all the requirements. Some may have ramps and others, toilets for the disabled. But in my experience, I have found the toilets locked all the time.” No station is an exception — be it MRTS, suburban or even the Central Railway Station.

The CMRL now has a good collection of relevant data, thanks to the documentation efforts of the DRA. The material includes guidelines on making official websites accessible to vision and reading disabilities, on making metro stations barrier-free and a legal perspective to accessibility in public spaces.

Importantly, CMRL now has a chance to learn from the mistakes made in Delhi Metro, which is otherwise considered a good facility. A compilation of access audits carried out at various metro stations in New Delhi point to aspects that the CMRL has to pay attention to. For instance, one such access audit talks of the security clearance area in a metro station in New Delhi where there is not enough space for a wheelchair to pass through.

Persons with disabilities have never had it easy, and railway stations are among the least accessible, according frequent travellers like Erode Nagaraj, the noted mridangam artist. “I often take trains to different towns and cities for concert trips. Each time I go to the station, it is a nightmare. I can’t use my wheelchair in most stations,” he said. He also had a harrowing experience with a ticket checking official who cited some “new rules” on renewing his disability certificates and demanded Rs.1,000.

Mr. Nagaraj added: “We see Metro Rail work happening across the city. I don’t know how the stations will be. In other trains, one does not expect anything except a big gap between the train and the platform which makes it most inconvenient for people like me.”

CMRL, on its part, has promised to look into the recommendations carefully. Its MD Mr. Rajaraman said: “We are going by international standards as far as trains are concerned. We are fully committed to making stations barrier-free and the points given by the DRA are certainly worthy of consideration.”

Certain aspects, he said, were not covered by the international standards and the CMRL would have to spend time studying them to see how feasible they are.

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Students protest against inaccessible Delhi University Campus

Dear Colleagues,

Delhi University is sitting over several access audit reports conducted by independent agencies for which the University has paid a fee while the students with disabilities continue to suffer! One of such reports was shared by Svayam with the Delhi University to improve upon the signage and pedestrian access in the North Campus of Delhi University. However, there seems no action on the report till date and it is over two years. The situation is no better in even the South Campus of Delhi University.

The main roads connecting and passing through the Campus are not within the control of Delhi University and we have learnt that due to lack of coordination among multiple agencies manning the roads, the accessibility project has suffered badly. During Commonwealth Games, road were laid with spaces for motor and non-motorised transport, however it did not provide proper access to pedestrians. There are wrongly placed tactile pavers and abrupt level changes. On top of it, the access points always remain choked with the parked vehicles in front of gates. The pedestrian crossings are a nightmare and given the traffic sense on the roads, the disabled users are always prone to accidents. However, there is no initiative from any quarter to streamline the issue.

Recently a student with disability met with a serious accident. Students have thus decided to raise their voice which is very right and we strongly support this.

Here is the news items from Deccan Herald:

DU students bat for disabled-friendly campus

Apr 4, 2012
NEW DELHI: Students with disabilities will hold a protest on Wednesday demanding a more accessible campus from Delhi University authorities.

A month back they had submitted an application to university authorities regarding safety on roads, said a member of DU cross disabilities association (DUCDA). “A week ago another reminder was sent but to no effect,” added the member.

The members also carried out a signature campaign where around 700 students showed their solidarity.

“Student with disability met with a major accident recently in north campus. We are demanding safety on the roads. Although there are tactile paths in north campus for students who are blind, most of them are badly planned,” said Kapil Kumar, a blind postgraduate sociology student from Delhi School of Economics.

“Half the time while walking on these paths we bump into poles and trees. Incidents of blind students falling into pits have also come to light,” he added.

The students complain that they are being ignored.

“Though there is an equal opportunity cell (EOC) in the university to guide students with disabilities, it is always over burdened. Everywhere we go, we are directed to EOC which has limited resources and capacity. The proctor is handling EOC, but it should have an independent incharge to address our problems more effectively. Our issues have always been sidelined,” he said.

The students are also demanding to make accessible hostels and toilets.

“Very few colleges, not even the prominent ones, have toilets specially constructed for students with disabilities. Khalsa College may have one as one of the teaching faculty is disabled,” said Shakti Kumar Agarwal adding in hostels like Gwyer Hall, it is impossible to move in a wheelchair.

“Its entrance has steps. There is a boys’ hostel for disabled students that too is under Delhi government. There are no hostels for disabled women students,” said Agarwal.

The students are demanding a separate elected body on the lines of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) to better represent them.

“There is a stray dog problem in every hostel. Once a blind girl fell into a pit where a dog was lying and got bitten. The students with disabilities are terrorised to walk on the footpaths, so they walk on the sides of the roads. That’s equally dangerous,” added Agarwal.

While DU has around 1,500 students with disabilities, many of them blind.

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Hospitality sector a level playing field for differently-abled

Hospitality sector a level playing field for differently-abled

Published: Monday, Mar 26, 2012, 8:15 IST

By Shabana Ansari | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

For long, you could count the differently-abled at workplaces on your fingers and they were relegated to back-office operations. But, a silent and slow revolution has been sweeping across the hospitality sector. Shabana Ansari finds out that the step-motherly treatment is a thing of the past. Now, a number of them work as waitresses, housekeeping staff and musicians at 5-star hotels and coffee shops.

When you place an order at the Costa Coffee outlet in Pali Naka, Pooja Suryawanshi takes it down with a smile and a nod. A few tables away, Hyder Ali is busy clearing tables and serving customers. You realise that they both can’t hear and speak only when you see them communicate in sign language with Nafisa Shaikh, who is making coffee behind the counter.

Nearly 70% of the staff at this outlet is hearing- and speech-impaired. And, verbal conversation here happens only between guests at the tables, while the employees go about doing their job without exchanging a single word with each other.

“Even our regular employees undergo training in sign language to ensure better coordination with our special staff,” says Santhosh Unni, CEO of Costa Coffee India.

Slowly, but surely, the hospitality sector is opening up its doors to the differently-abled. And, the good news is that they are not relegated to back-office operations; instead, they are placed at positions where they can interact with customers.

Costa Coffee has more than 30 differently-abled employees across its 20 outlets in Mumbai. “Currently, 15% of our staff is differently-abled and we plan to significantly increase the intake soon,” adds Unni.

Other eateries that have implemented similar schemes include KFC and Barista, while five-star hotels, like the ITC group, have consistently provided equal job opportunities to the differently-abled.

A 5-star treatment
At the ITC Maratha in Andheri, mobility-impaired Buddhiram Murmu mans the reservations desk, while speech- and hearing-impaired Carlton Misquitta maintains office and attendance records. In the kitchen, hearing- and speech-impaired chef Shakir Mansoori is busy dishing out delicacies.

A few years ago, the ITC group started collaborating with NGOs working with the differently-abled and came up with an initiative for their mainstream inclusion.

Today, there are more than 300 special people among the 4,500-odd employees of the 14 ITC hotels across India. They include visually-challenged, hearing- and speech-impaired, and physically-challenged people working as waiters, technicians, housekeeping staff, masseurs, beauticians, and even musicians.

“For something like this to succeed, we need to realise that the differently-abled don’t need sympathy, but empathy,” says Niranjan Khatri, general manager of ITC’s social arm.

He adds that the process was not an easy one since there were a lot of hurdles along the way.

“The regular staff had to be sensitised and at the same time, we had to ensure that the special employees were not mollycoddled,” Khatri says, adding that they identify the strengths and qualifications of the differently-abled and match them with the relevant jobs.

Barrier-free workplace
Recruiters and activists working with the differently-abled insist that many of them suffer from low esteem and self-doubt after having faced rejection most of their lives.

“Productivity may suffer in the initial days, but after they get the hang of things, the differently-abled are a pleasure to work with. They are dedicated, sincere and unlikely to get distracted,” says Khatri, adding that the attrition rate among special employees is merely 2% as compared to 30% among the regular staff.

However, just hiring and training the special staff is not enough. Workplaces also need to be barrier-free and disabled-friendly. “Once we started working with the physically-challenged, we realised that all our hotels were not disabled-friendly. Since they had been constructed 25-30 years ago, no one had foreseen the inclusion of the differently-abled in the workforce,” says Khatri.

In the last few years, ITC has managed to eliminate 85% of the physical barriers in its hotels and has created easier ramp access for the physically-challenged. The rest could not be achieved since breaking down existing structures is not feasible. “However, all our future hotels will be barrier-free and disabled-friendly,” he says, adding that creating a barrier-free ambience benefits not just their special employees, but also their differently-abled guests.

Miles to go
While stories of inclusion are heartwarming, it’s undeniable that a majority of India’s differently-abled continue to be neglected in the public and private sectors.

A World Bank report, People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes, estimates that there are more than 90 million physically-challenged people across India. And, most of them don’t have access to education or employment.

The report maintains that it is not possible for the public sector to “do it all” and reveals that the private sector has been negligent. In the last decade, people with disability made up only 0.3% of the workforce at large private firms.

At multi-national companies, the situation is far worse – with only 0.05% of the workforce constituting people with disability, the report indicates.

Meanwhile, another report by the ILO Global Business and Disability Network says even government jobs are not filled by the differently-abled. According to the report, the 3% reservation as per the Disability Act of 1995 is not being met. “Till November 2010, only 1,017 vacancies out of 7,628 backlog vacancies had been filled up by the government,” the report adds.

A step towards the bigger goal
But, things may change if corporate India takes steps towards employing more differently-abled people.

Khatri says a beginning has been made, but a lot still needs to be done. “Disability is not the issue here but lack of education and awareness is,” he says. He points out that parents, teachers and NGOs working for people with special needs should set the bar high.

“We need to stop treating the differently-abled differently. Why restrict them to candle-making and packing jobs when they can be empowered through education and equal job opportunities?” he asks.

 

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Journey without barriers – a unique initiative for inclusive travel in India

Dear Colleagues,

After “Himalaya on Wheels”, it is “Journeys Without Barriers (JWB)  a travel agency now that targets tourists with disabilities and the elderly that may need any assistance in making a travel programme to Kashmir, Chennai, Pune, Goa and several other places in India. It supplements independence movement by providing trained companions for the travel. They are also planning to launch adventure sports too in Chennai, where the differently-abled and senior citizens will experience stand-up paddling and rappelling.

….Great going Vidhya! we are sure your work with disabled people in Ladhakh for over one and a half decade will be very useful in bringing this new venture to its logical success. We need several such initiatives in India to make inclusive travel a reality and we wish this all good luck.

Here is the feature in The Hindu:

Trail blazers

Anusha Parthasarathy

March 26, 2012

OFFBEAT Journeys Without Barriers does just that — make travel easy for the differently-abled.

Travel can be a rough proposition for the differently-abled, and Journeys Without Barriers (JWB) strives to smoothen it out. Three passionate women — Gouthami, Shivani Gupta and Vidhya Kalyani RamaSubban — are behind this start-up.

When approached by individuals, groups, NGOs or interested communities for travel to a destination in India, JWB makes that specific place accessible to the differently-abled and senior citizens.

A change for the better

“Before we chalk out an itinerary, we visit the place, and check how accessible they are. We look at the washrooms (if they need ramps) and the ticket counters (if they must be lowered) at popular tourist spots, and work at making them accessible. The accommodation can be anything, including a homestay, guesthouse or hotel. Since Ladakh has many hotels, we decided not to build one ourselves, but to tie up with a few. When they are renovating or adding an extra room to their premises, we work with them to make it suitable for the customers. Basically, we help these people run this as a business enterprise,” she says.

“Sometimes we ourselves identify groups for such travel. Projects will soon be launched in Chennai (in Kovalam) and Delhi,” says Vidhya. It all started with ‘Himalaya on Wheels’, which they launched in 2011, with the help of PAGIR (People’s Action Group for Inclusion and Rights) in Ladakh. “I’ve been working in Ladakh for many years, and when we started ‘Himalaya on Wheels’, we thought, if people could travel to Ladakh, why not other places. That’s how JWB happened. In fact, a lot of people have been asking us to take it to places such as Goa or Pune.We’re planning on launching adventure sports too in Chennai, where the differently-abled and senior citizens will experience stand-up paddling and rappelling. Having said that, our packages are open to all kinds of travellers.”

When travelling with JWB, one needn’t worry about being alone, as it trains people to take care of the differently-abled. “Normally, Indians don’t travel alone and always bring people along to assist them, but for those who want to be independent, we have trained helpers,” says Vidhya. “We’re also a part of ‘Travel Another India’, which engages in responsible tourism. We work with local communities and help empower them.”

JWB hopes to make tourism friendly to the visually- and the hearing-impaired too. “In Chennai, for example, we have Vedanthangal on our list, and we will tie up with sign language interpreters who will tell them about the birds. We’re looking at having our pamphlets in Braille and in MP3 format.”

“We take people around usual tourist spots such as the lake and monasteries in Ladakh, and also do things such as a walk in the snow leopard area, spending a day with a Ladhaki family, learning to cook local cuisine and even a camel ride in North Ladakh,” says Vidhya.

For details, visit JWB at www.travelanotherindia.com/

journey-without-barriers.html

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Ajanta & Ellora Caves to improve accessibility for Visitors with Disabilities

Dear Colleagues,

Archeological Survey of India plans to provide battery powered wheelchairs to make World Heritage Sites of Ajanta & Ellora Caves accessible to those living with disabilities. Svayam had undertaken access audit of Agra Fort, Taj Mahal & Fatehpur Sikri group of monuments and shared detailed audit reports with the Archeological survey of India recommending these batterly powered wheelchairs and vehicles which has been accepted by the ASI to be incorporated at other world heritage sites also.

Here is the news from Gulf News:
World-famous caves to offer access to disabled

Battery-powered vehicles to be provided by Archaeological Survey of India at Ajanta and Ellora sites.

By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent Published: 00:00 March 23, 2012

Mumbai: Disabled tourists are to be given access to the world-famous Ajanta and Ellora rock-cut caves via battery-powered vehicles.

As part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, the Archaeological Survey of India is to provide the vehicles which can transport up to five people per trip to the caves, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

The beautiful rock-hewn Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples of the Ellora caves, carved on the hillsides of the Sahyadri ranges, will be the first to be made accessible using existing ramps, Dr D. Dayalan, director of the Aurangabad Circle at the ASI, told Gulf News yesterday.
The service will then be rolled out to the Ajanta caves, 100km away.

In an attempt to make the sites — visited by tourists from all over India and the world — more tourist-friendly, the ASI will completely revamp the existing facilities.

“Apart from undertaking major conservation works, we have identified around a dozen monuments in Maharashtra where tourist facilities will be upgraded and brought to an international level,” said Dr Dayalan.

A sophisticated security system has already been installed at Daulatabad, one of the world’s best-preserved medieval forts, and there are similar plans at Ellora, Ajanta and Bibi Ka Maqbara, a replica of Agra’s Taj Mahal built by Aurangzeb’s son in the 17th century as a tribute to his mother, Begum Rabia Durani.

Inaugurating the 150th anniversary celebrations of the ASI’s Aurangabad and Mumbai Circles at Ellora caves yesterday, Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan congratulated all those involved with the work of the organisation.

“As a chancellor of 20 universities in Maharashtra, I do feel that the ASI should have greater interaction with our universities, research institutions and even private conservation organisations,” the Governor said.

Modern methods

“We should work closely with heritage conservation bodies in advanced countries. Such interactions will help us adopt modern methods to preserve and conserve our heritage and monuments.”

Sankaranarayanan added he was surprised to note Maharashtra alone has 168 places of historical importance taken care of by the ASI. Several more are maintained by state and local authorities.
He said Maharashtra was home to four important world heritage sites, namely the Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta caves and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai.