Mid Day | 03 December 2015 | By Maleeva Rebello |
The Somaiya campus in Vidyavihar is an instance of what our educational and professional organisations must do to get to Modi’s dream of Accessible India.
Larger fonts: Multiple question options and larger fonts on question papers have helped Aditya Mankar, a first year engineering student. The Thane resident says, “I have 10 per cent vision. I dream of becoming a game developer and wish to design an adventure game. Outside college, I struggle to cross the road or take a train. In college though, it is a different world.”
Jobs: Though she has completed her engineering course, a KT in a final year subject proved a hurdle for Pallavi Bhoite to land a job abroad as software engineer. The Bhandup resident is an amputee and gets around using the Jaipur foot. “I can’t climb more than one floor and have to use the lift. Because of the commute from my Bhandup home to the college in Vidyavihar, my family thought I’d never make it as engineer, but I cleared my exams. The college has given me a job as clerk on campus, till I clear my KT.”
Facilities: Dr Shubha Pandit, principal of the engineering college, says, “We have made our college washrooms accessible to PwDs. The doors are wider to fit a wheelchair and there are handles to aid them in the toilets.”
Accessible India
>> It’s a campaign Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches today.
>> It aims to make transport, public and tourist places, airports, railway stations, information and communication technology in India friendly to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
>> The initiative involves retrofitting buildings, framing accessibility standards for new buildings and transport, auditing private companies on the ‘accessibility index’ (how PwD friendly buildings and HR policies are), making all government websites accessible to PwDs.
>> Workshop will sensitise people about accessibility.
>> India looks to join the rest of the world to become an inclusive society with universal accessibility, independent living and accessibility rights. – Courtesy