Braille signage to make Alipore Museum inclusive for persons with visual impairment
Telegraph | 24 October 2024
A 15-year-old girl with visual impairment read out the caption outside Jawaharlal Nehru’s cell at Alipore Museum, where the country’s first Prime Minister spent four months in 1934.
A Braille signage made that possible for Madhurima Naskar. The Class VII girl said she could relate to her history lessons.
Alipore Museum — the building once housed Alipore Central Jail — now has signage in Braille that would make the heritage place accessible to persons with visual impairment.
The project is an initiative of the Calcutta chapter of Young Indians (Yi), the youth wing of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), who sent a proposal to the museum authorities.
“It is a critical step in making a public place accessible for the visually impaired. People with visual impairment would be able to read our captions in Braille,” said Jayanta Sengupta, director, Alipore Museum.
Sabita Naskar, who was accompanying Madhurima, was taken by surprise when someone told her that her niece could read the caption herself.
“I had not noticed the caption and was reading it out to my niece. But when someone told me about the Braille caption, the visit became a more fulfilling and independent experience for my niece. She told me how the British had inflicted cruelty on freedom fighters,” said Naskar.
Managed by Hidco, the Braille signage was inaugurated on Wednesday by mayor Firhad Hakim.
“These are heritage places visited by tourists. Our target is to make such places accessible and inclusive,” said Baibhav Agarwal, chair of Yi Kolkata.
The installations by Yi Kolkata include 44 Braille indicators, 53 Braille signage, a Braille map of the museum at the entrance and fourramps.