A surprise visit to the office of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) by the Commissioner for Disabilities K S Rajanna, turned out to be an eye opener. For the plush building located on the busy Church Street is disabled-friendly.
Leave aside the disabled persons who may be visiting the office routinely and finding it an uphill task to make their way through the building, the commissioner who is himself a disabled person found it quite difficult to climb up the stairs in order to make it to the ground floor of the multi-storeyed building.
The commissioner after having taken a round of the building gave the officials of the department a list of mandatory provisions to be made in the building for the disabled persons with a 15-day deadline for completion.
Surprisingly, the building is only eight years old and still has only a lone toilet for the disabled that too only on the ground floor in the name of disabled friendly provisions.
Taking the officials to task, the commissioner called for the engineer of the department and asked him that why the basic provisions such as a ramp right at the entrance of the building is missing.
Initially, the commissioner gave a week's deadline to the department for making the necessary provisions in the building but only after the officials sought more time that Rajanna relented.
Handing out a list to the chairman of the Board Vaman Acharya, Rajanna listed the missed out provisions in the building including ramp at the entrance, wheelchairs, separate toilets on every floor, signboards for blinds, separate dedicated lifts, separate wash basins besides other mandatory provisions under the PWD Act 1995 (Persons with Disabilities Act). He also highlighted that there is no proper parking facility earmarked for the disabled persons. Vaman Acharya, the chairman of the Board, said he will get everything in place in the stipulated time period.
Rajanna also said any disabled person in the City having any problems or complaint can call the helpline-080-23462625.
The department also has six employees who are disabled and are yet to join as there was a stay order by the Hight Court on the appointments which has recently been vacated.
Rajanna said from now on twice in every month such inspections of the government buildings will be conducted to ensure that all the public offices are at least disabled-friendly.