CHENNAI: The design of an under-construction bus shelter near the Saidapet court has come under scrutiny after complaints were received over accessibility for persons with disabilities and the elderly, as the platform is about
2 feet high and can be accessed only using a steep ramp or steps. The shelter is being built at a cost of `15 lakh from Deputy Mayor M Magesh Kumar’s area development funds.
The platform height is nearly 2.5 times the height preferred by persons with disabilities for level boarding. The ramp is less than a metre wide which, according to Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials, must be at least 1.2 metres wide.
BRR officials inspected the shelter after receiving complaints and suggested widening the ramp, installing a handrail and constructing it at a 1:20 gradient.
Corporation officials from zone 11 said the height was necessitated by the stormwater drain below the shelter. Activists, however, questioned why these changes were being suggested only after the construction had begun.
“How is level boarding possible at the shelter? The ramp is so steep and will not be able to be accessed by a person with disability independently,” said Sathish Kumar, a disability rights activist from the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA).
He also questioned the choice of constructing a concrete structure over the platform, obstructing pedestrians.
There are already five other bus stops in the vicinity, but buses were not seen stopping at any of them. Instead, buses stopped a few metres away, near a tea shop, where commuters waited in the sun.
“The bus stops away from all the five stops, so we have to stand here,” a commuter said.
The deputy mayor said the new shelter was being built according to GCC norms and that concrete shelters were preferred when constructed using MLA or councillor funds as the civic body preferred a permanent structure.
The existing shelters also face encroachment, as two-wheelers were seen parked in front of two stops and notary officials occupying another.
Corporation officials said the issue would have to be taken up with the MTC and added that six shelters were required at the location.
‘SWD work led to height rise’
Officials recently inspected the bus shelter after receiving complaints and suggested widening the ramp, installing a handrail and constructing it at a 1:20 gradient. Corporation officials from Zone 11 said the height was necessitated by the stormwater drain below the shelter