http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/poor-access-for-disabled-at-puja-pandals/article6471978.ece
Entry to Durga Puja *pandals *prove to be a huge challenge for disabled persons, a survey of 30 *pandals* in the city has shown. A study conducted by Civilian Welfare Foundation (CWF), an organisation working for the rights of the disabled, has documented the problems encountered by the differently-abled while visiting *pandals*. The voluntary organisation selected 30 *pandals* in the city with daily footfalls of more than 4 lakh. CWF requested paralympic athletes to participate in the survey. “Despite prior information, about half of them (14 puja committees of the 30 surveyed) advised us not to bring disabled people to the *pandals* as they did not have the requisite infrastructure,” Shuvojit Moulik, president of CWF, told *The Hindu*. At a popular *pandal* in south Kolkata, CWF representatives accompanying national para-triathlon champion Mohammed Gaffar asked for a wheelchair. To their surprise, they were offered a stretcher instead. Some pandals provided wheelchairs but there were no ramps. Volunteers at one *pandal* even pushed a disabled woman into a long queue of pandal hoppers. Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! 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/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in 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. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
