BENGALURU: Following a push from the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), BMRCL will be making the Ragigudda Metro station of phase-II and its surrounding roads easily accessible for specially-abled. This station is on the elevated RV Road-Bommasandra Line and has a prosthetic Institute and an organisation for the specially-abled in the vicinity.
BMRCL will ensure ensure that those at Mobility India, a non-profit that provides assisting devices and addresses issues for specially-abled, and the Samrathanam Trust for the Disabled would be able to access the station directly.
A top BMRCL official said DULT has sent three proposals to them and they were working on them. The proposals include making the neighbourhood streets accessible and inclusive with due consideration given to the specially-challenged, improving accessibility to metro station with universal accessible ramps, and improvements at Marenahalli junction to ensure safety of those from the two organisations while crossing.
Sharing the details, she said that table top crossing across the streets, guard rail, tactile pavers and cobbling the Maranahalli junction to reduce the vehicular speed were among the measures under consideration. All these measures could cost an estimated Rs 1.5 crore.
“DULT will be funding the cost while BMRCL will ensure the infrastructure,” another official said. DULT Commissioner V Manjula said, “We have sent a proposal to BMRCL to improve last-mile connectivity. We are awaiting a detailed estimate from them.” “We also plan to develop the unused BBMP vacant space adjacent to the station as a vibrant public space for easy access for specially-abled,” the official added.
A senior official said, “While all Metro stations are disabled-friendly, this is the first one in which a holistic development of the entire neighbourhood is being planned to make Metro travel comfortable for specially-abled.”