Zilla Parishad to get state's first barrier-free building for disabled

The district social welfare department will soon complete infrastructure work on the disabled-friendly building of the zilla parishad, which was built two years ago. The deadline set is August 15 to make the new building would the first barrier-free building in Maharashtra."There are no obstacles in the entire building and it's well furnished with ramps, railings and disabled- friendly toilets.

Recently, we decided to install a ‘beep' machine for the visually impaired at the main entrance of the building and at every floor, near the elevator, so that it is easy for them to roam around," said social welfare officer Sanjay Kadam.u00a0

The construction of the building was done under the Person With Disabilities (PWD) Act, 1995, which says a barrier-free environment must be there in state and central government offices for the disabled. It is different from most government offices in the city where elevators hardly work.

The absence of ramps also makes it difficult for disabled people in wheelchairs, and the absence of informative boards impels them to depend on someone else.

"All the informative boards in the building will be displayed in Braille script and the parking space will be reserved for vehicles of the disabled. Also, we will reserve a specific day of the week reserved for them to submit certificates," added Kadam. The zilla parishad has 350 disabled employees.

Along with the barrier-free building, the district social welfaredepartment has also made a provision of Rs 1.63 crore for the disabled to make them financially independent by providing them with small-scale business trades.