It’s a matter of private amusement among those in the disability sector how surprised society is on any election day when ‘sightings’ of persons with visible disabilities spike dramatically.
Maybe voters with disabilities are more conscientious. Or maybe the last decade has seen tangible progress by way of improvements to polling stations so that, just for one day, a citizen with a disability has a decent chance of encountering a welcoming environment, with wheelchair assistance, priority queues and Braille-buttoned voting machines.
Of course, this fleeting oasis of what an inclusive India could be disappears rudely just outside the polling station, when the reality of hostile public transport intrudes, with buses and suburban trains impossible to use for people with mobility difficulties and pavements blocked by callously parked vehicles.
But still. Just for one day…
Flashback to December 3, 2016, World Disability Day. Just for one day, Marina Beach was invaded, for the first time, by people using wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and calipers after a temporary path was laid out with mats on compacted sand leading from the Gandhi statue to the sea. Volunteers helped wheelchair users down the final incline to the waters, vicariously enjoying their reactions ranging from ecstatic to ‘zen’. Over the next six years, that one day gradually became one week and then two.
Finally, on November 27, 2022, a decade-long struggle made it possible for anyone to visit the beach on any day. Or in the case of the liberated senior citizen from Anna Nagar or the beach wheelchair-using twins, every day.
The Marina Beach access path has been pathbreaking on a variety of fronts. From the start, the charity perspective was shunned. This access path was not a corporate social responsibility initiative (or MPLADS funded), nor was it paid for or initiated by the Tamil Nadu government’s disability department. It was, as it should be, a result of a request made by affected tax-paying citizens to the relevant authority -- the Greater Chennai Corporation -- that executed and paid to make Marina Beach accessible to all.
Next, there were no shortcuts or waivers that could have been deployed in the benevolent, charity-minded approach. The coastal regulation zone’s maze of protocols was respected and accommodated in the design of the pathway and extensive paperwork filed for environmental clearance.
In the spirit of India’s only law mandating public participation in decision-making, the Accessible Beaches of Chennai campaign went the extra mile to ensure representation from diverse stakeholders in advocacy to make the Marina and Elliots’ Beaches accessible to all. From residents in the nearby fishing hamlets, members of resident welfare associations, road safety volunteers, beach vendors, senior citizens and children to environmentalists advocating for the coast, trees and Olive Ridley turtles, everyone was heard.
The biggest struggle was in convincing designers and engineers on the need for railings. As this was the first-of-its-kind CRZ-compliant no-cement, all-wood boardwalk in India, parallels from abroad were referenced. Not a single beach access path elsewhere had railings. The greatest battle waged and won in the Marina Beach pathway was in convincing authorities that people using calipers and crutches in India would ordinarily be wheelchair-users in the Global North; the restrictions and barriers faced in built environment in India means that people often put off switching to wheelchairs unless absolutely unavoidable. Railings help senior citizens, people with balance issues, pregnant persons as well as ambulant persons with disabilities.
Which brings us to the ongoing battle for inclusion and the rightful place of disabled people, participating in society on an equal basis. As witnessed at the recent screening of the cricket world cup final at the Marina Beach, non-disabled beachgoers must be constantly reminded, urged and cajoled to give way to disabled peers. Deprived of diversity in education and the workplace, the typical citizen needs some schooling on disability etiquette, consideration and awareness.
It is important to remember that the beach access path is for all, but for some citizens it’s the only option.
Need constant reminder
As witnessed at the recent screening of the cricket world cup final at the Marina Beach, non-disabled beachgoers must be constantly reminded, urged and cajoled to give way to disabled peers.
Footnote is a weekly column that discusses issues relating to Tamil Nadu
Vaishnavi Jayakumar is a cross-disability rights activist, member of the Disability Rights Alliance and co-founder of The Banyan