Making of Chandigarh: An overview of accessibility for disabled in the City Beautiful

The concept of accessibility generally means an inclusive society for all; it is a human right and a development concern. Accessibility is best defined as the provision of flexibility to accommodate each user’s needs, preferences and ease of movement regardless of any disability. Hence, the design of any space, physical or virtual, must be easily and equally approachable, understandable and interactive with persons having disabilities.

According to United Nations (Post 2015 Development Agenda), accessibility is a bridging tool between the special needs of persons with disabilities and a country’s social, cultural, and economic inclusion. In India, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities launched the ‘Accessible India campaign’ in 2015 as a nation-wide campaign to achieve universal accessibility for persons with disabilities, which provides a mandate to ensure accessibility in all public buildings, transportation systems, Information and Communication Technology services and other services provided by the government. Under this scheme, around 44 government buildings were identified in Chandigarh to convert to fully accessible buildings. These include E-Sampark Centres, Police Stations and Government Hospitals along with some other Government public buildings.

As reported by WHO, about 15 per cent of the world’s population lives with some form of disability, of whom two to four per cent experience significant difficulties in functioning. In India, 2.1 per cent of people are living with some disability.