Well-researched report, very handy for researchers; Disability Advocates could also take this up! Thanks to the 'accessible India' flagship programme of the government all this basic accessibility concerns are now presented as serious ones. But alas after the passage of 20 years old the PWD Act. Its the failure of the disability sector as a whole. When the Delhi the shining capital of the country is crying for basic infrastructural accessibility of the public places, one could just imagine the shoddy state of affairs in the rest of the Bharat. http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/entertainment/delhis-cinema-halls-a-no-go-zone-for-wheelchairs/49013157
While going to the movies is the national hobby, there are some for whom it is, quite literally, an uphill task. An organisation which works to make public places accessible to people with disabilities, recently visited several cinema halls owned by major chains in the city and found out that the halls lacked facilities for the physically-challenged and were not disabled-friendly. Cinema halls are not accessible for the wheelchair-bound. Milan, who heads the organisation, Wings Of Angelz, tells us, "We often go for undercover operations to government offices, metro stations, railway stations and restaurants to find out how accessible a place is for the differently-a bled. This time we decided to go to the cinema halls in different parts of the NCR and we found that even though they provide staff assistance, the staff is not well-trained to handle people with disabilities. In fact, most of the cinemas even lack ramps for wheelchairs. Even if they do have ramps, it is only to enter the theatre. To reach your seat, you have to call the staff because of the stairs. We have created a charter for cinema halls to sign and we are asking them to make a commitment towards creating a more accessible environment for disabled cinegoers." There are a number of complaints online - Facebook posts, tweets and blogs - but nobody can force the halls to take action, the activists say. Four years back, Shivani Gupta, who runs Access Ability, shared an experience on her blog. When she went to watch a movie, the auditorium had an accessible route only till the entrance. She wrote, "We had seats in the centre of the second last row. I being a tetraplegic never ever sat anywhere else except my wheelchair and usually whenever I go to watch a movie I just park my chair in the aisle and continue sitting on it." The cinema halls of NCR don't allow you to stay in the wheelchair. The staff always asks me to shift to the audi seat. If there's a fire, who is going to lift me back in my wheelchair? - Sumit Singh, content writer Shivani wrote, "But here they had a different rule. They wanted me to transfer to an audi seat and they were happy to assist me in shifting. Since I had no option, I abided and took their assistance to shift to the regular seat while my chair was taken away and returned at the end of the show when I wanted to leave." Four years later, nothing has changed. A mental map helps in navigation. Not all movie theatres in NCR are designed the same way, according to those who use wheelchairs. Also, because of the Disabilities Act of 1995, many public places have a sloped ramp leading to the entrance, but others say more needs to be done. Nikhil Kumar Gupta, who runs an organisation that works with people who have spinal cord problems, says, "We have to make some noise. When I have to go for a movie, I go with 10-12 other colleagues who also need wheelchairs. So that, the next time we go to a cinema hall, officials should realise that there must be facilities for people like us also. Whenever I go out somewhere, I rely on a map I draw mentally for myself. It divides the place into sections that are easily accessible to me and the ones where I will need help to navigate." He adds, "Cinema halls should rethink seating for the disabled. We can't ask them to give us space in front rows or back rows, but some accessibility can be provided. Most halls have some issue or the other, however, places like Odeon in CP and PVR Priya have a provision of balcony entry, so we can reach on our own." Ritika Dwivedi, a housewife who has a wheelchair-bound son, says, "As far as I know, no cinema hall in the city allows wheelchairs. When I take my son out for a movie, I have to make special arrangements. If there is a ramp, he can get inside by himself but the cinema hall staff has to lift him from his wheelchair and make him sit on audi seats. So, I make sure I book couch seats, or else there is very little space between the rows and he is not able to sit properly." Ritika's 23-year-old son Rishabh Dwivedi says, "The uphill slope is more challenging to navigate than the floor. It is usually a wooden plank rather than a permanent structure. I would prefer people not helping me because I want to be on my own. But, rather than making the place accessible, they ask us to send a request in advance so that they can offer assistance even if I don't want it." For some it is dependency while others feel embarrassed being physically lifted by the staff. Tania Sinha, a content writer who has been on a wheelchair for the last eight years, says, "I don't go to watch a film in a cinema hall because of the various hassles I have to face. However, when my family insists and I have no choice, I prefer reaching half hour before the others so I don't have to go through the embarrassment of being watched while they take me inside the audi and shift me from my wheelchair to the seats." Reminding us of the Uphaar incident, her colleague Sumit Singh asks that if such an incident occurs again, what will happen to the person using a wheelchair? He adds, "The cinema halls of NCR don't allow you with a wheelchair, the staff always asks me to get out of my it. If there's a fire, who is going to lift me and put me back in my wheelchair?'' 'Zyada wheelchair waale film dekhne nahin aate' When we spoke to cinemas officials in NCR about the issue, most major cinema chains, refused to comment on the topic, while other cinema officials say that providing facilities for the physically challenged is their priority. Yogesh Raizada, corporate head, Wave Cinemas, says, "We have wheelchairs accessible at all our local box offices. Maintenance of facilities for people with disabilities and the training of our staff in disability awareness, is our priority. We have restrooms which are quite accessible for physically challenged people." Tinku Singh, president and chief strategy officer, SRS cinemas, says, "The staff at all our cinema halls provide assistance and help guests in reaching their seats. Wherever we don't have a ramp, we send someone from the staff to help and they physically lift the guests and take them to their seats. Most of the time people with disabilities are accompanied by someone, even then we take care of everything." While officials paint a pretty picture, cinema staff tell us that they don't have any facilities because 'zyada wheelchair waale cinema hall nahin aate.' Surprisingly, when we asked the staff at a few cinema halls about their facilities, they asked us to specify, as they had no idea what kind of facility we were talking about. Ravi Gupta, a member of the staff at a leading cinema chain, says, "Ab bol bhi nahin sakte ki koi facility hi nahin hai, aap andar mat jaiye nahin to koi uski recording kar ke Facebook par daal dega." -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. 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