MADURAI: Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Welfare Board member KJT Pushparaj visited the Meenakshi temple along with several disability rights activists on Sunday for inspecting the prevailing facilities to make them more PwD-friendly, following complaints of lack of infrastructure for persons with disabilities (PwDs) in the temple.
Recently, a woman with disabilities alleged she was forced to remove her leg caliper and the priests were not considerate to her.
Pushparaj said the temple has proper ramps and other PwD-friendly facilities, but lacks a proper ramp at the Annadhanam Mandabam that compels persons with disabilities to rely on others to get there as the stairs are steep.
For now, PwDs have to park their three-wheeler bikes in other parking areas and either crawl or take a wheelchair to get into the temple.
The activists suggested the HR&CE department that special parking zones be established for persons with disabilities near all temple entrances and ensure that wheelchairs are available nearby to provide them better accessibility.
Pointing out the incident of the woman with disabilities, the activists demanded the establishment of a special room where women with disabilities could do so.
The activists also called for giving special training to the temple staff on treating persons with disabilities the right way.
They also gave suggestions to the temple management for aiding PwDs.
Pushparaj said he will submit the suggestions to the welfare board so that all the temples can have a PwD-friendly atmosphere.