Ramps in place but no end to woes for wheelchair users
Times of India | 9 February 2025
12 Kolkata: Access to stalls at the book fair continued to pose a hurdle for people with disabilities, particularly those in wheelchairs, said members of Wheelchair Users' Association (WUA) who visited the book fair on Saturday afternoon.
Though the fair organisers have built ramps and revamped washrooms, lack of understanding about the needs of people with mobility issues meant they found it challenging to enter stalls unassisted.Delhi Election Results 2025Saffron surge in Delhi as BJP ends AAP's reign in landslide victoryDelhi results: Complete list of winners from AAP, BJP and CongressTop 10 winners and losers in Delhi elections"The ramps have not been properly built to enable people on wheelchairs to use them without help. At stalls, the rails on which collapsible gates are installed have not been embedded in the platform and so, wheelchairs can't ride over them unassisted," said Priyanka De, philisophy assistant professor at Presidency University.
A WUA member, De said they had asked the Guild to let them hold an accessibility audit. "There should be a helpline for distributing wheelchairs at the fair, which is not there. Even after repeated requests, people with disabilities faced problems at the fair," she said.
Guild officials said they would try to make changes next year. "Our people are always at the stalls to help," said an official.
Check out the latest news about Delhi Election Results and the full and final winner list only on Times of India.