BHUBANESWAR: What is revelry for many is a muted affair for the Challenged. Children and adults alike wait for the pujas every year, but the same can not be said about the physically disabled. The pandals constructed for pujas do not allow the physically disabled easy access. This rules out the possibility of having darshan of Goddess Durga by the disabled. Even though every year the budgets go up and the innovative designs are made, this type of deficiency is always there. Most of the pandals do not go for a ramp for the wheelchairs to pass through or arrange for a separate line for the disabled. The huge rush creates a major problem for the disabled to frequent these venues. Shruti Mohapatra of Swabhiman, herself a disabled, said, “Simple steps need to be taken like creating a small ramp near the stairs to enable a wheelchair to move, allowing vehicles of the disabled to be parked near the pandal.” On earlier puja occasions, she was not allowed to park the car near the pandal despite her request. During the peak hours of the puja, the parking is a huge problem for anyone. Imagine the plight of a disabled having to find a proper parking space, travelling the distance to the pandal and dealing with the crowd simultaneously, she said. It is not just a problem faced by the disabled, it is problem faced by the whole family. The fellow feeling among us is decreasing, said Sanyas Behera, an activist for the blind and blind himself. ‘’People have become less considerate to the problems of the disabled. Even though there is a law - Persons with Disability Act, 1995, and guidelines from the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, to make public buildings and structures barrier- free - these instructions are usually ignored.
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