Government fails disability access deadline

The State Government has failed to make at least 50 per cent of public buildings in the Capital City accessible for differently-abled persons under Accessible India Campaign.
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

BHUBANESWAR:The State Government has failed to make at least 50 per cent of public buildings in the Capital City accessible for differently-abled persons under Accessible India Campaign.Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disability (SSEPD) Director Susanta Mohapatra said under the Centre’s Accessible India drive, 50 per cent of all public buildings in the State Capital had to be made completely accessible for the differently-abled by July, 2018. However, the Government has missed the deadline.
Mohapatra admitted that this is a contravention of the order of Supreme Court which had asked the Centre and the States to achieve the target within the deadline.

Under the campaign launched in 2015, the State Government had identified 21 major public buildings which were to be made accessible for differently-abled persons.These buildings include offices of BDA and BMC, Municipal hospitals, Utkal University, Ekamra College, Maharshi College, Odisha State Cooperative Bank, Odisha State Cooperative Housing Corporation, Institute of Engineers, Science Park, OTDC Pantha Niwas, Tourism Bhawan, Insurance office and Baramunda bus stand.

However, these buildings are yet to be made completely accessible for the differently-abled.
Sources said parts of the Secretariat building are still inaccessible for differently-abled persons who also face problems in Commissionerate of Police office when the lift in the building goes out of order.
SSEPD department officials said the Building Division of Public Works department is the executing authority of the project.

The Division was supposed to carry out the retrofitting work in these buildings. However, the work could not be completed in the identified buildings.The officials further said the delay has now affected the work of making 50 per cent public buildings accessible to the differently-abled in 10 major towns of the State. The deadline for completion of work in Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Baripada, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Berhampur and Jeypore is July, 2019.The Chief Engineer (Buildings) of Works department could not be contacted for comments.

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