Visitors in wheelchairs face uneven ramp & gate rail accessibility hurdles
Times of India | 24 January 2026
Kolkata: Smooth access to the book stalls at the ongoing International Kolkata Book Fair remained a challenge for persons with disabilities, especially for the visitors in wheelchairs.
This has been claimed by the members of the Wheelchair Users Association. They visited the book fair on Friday to conduct an accessibility audit for persons with disabilities and to ascertain whether the stalls were wheelchair-user-friendly. Though ramps were built to enter the stalls from the lanes, association members said there had been no improvement in the facilities since last year. "We insisted to the guild numerous times that the collapsible gates should be set up in such a way so that we can enter the stalls smoothly without having to face hurdles or requiring any assistance. But the situation remains the same in most of the stalls. It is very disappointing that they made no progress," said Priyanka De of the Wheelchair Users Association.
At a few stalls, the members found that the rails on which the collapsible gates were installed had not been properly embedded in the platform. Due to such an arrangement, a person in a wheelchair can not ride over those without assistance. At many places, the members found the ramps to be uneven and difficult for wheelchair users to enter a stall unassisted.
Officials of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild said there were some problems, as mentioned by the association, and that the guild would try to take corrective measures in as many stalls as possible within the next couple of days.
"Ramps have been built at all the stalls, but specifications do not match with what the association had mentioned. The problems could be rectified in some of the stalls, but it would be difficult to address the problem for all. We would ask all the decorators to keep this issue in mind," said a guild official.