Issue Of Uneasy Access

All citizens are equal which has been guaranteed by the constitution. But some citizens deserve more attention on the part of the state than others as they are less capable and ill-equipped to take care of their lives. People with physical handicaps fall in this category. It is said that being handicapped is not a disability because these people can do what many of their able bodied counterparts are not able to do. But to accomplish extraordinary deeds they are powered by their extraordinary willpower. Equally important for them is the fact that they need to be facilitated physically in order to ensure their access to the places where they have to go in their daily life. They are physically challenged under challenging situations due to their special conditions in which they are forced to live in. It is in this context that the special rights of the handicapped and differently abled citizens have been enshrined in the constitution of Nepal. 

Constitutionally, it is their inherent right to have smooth and easy access to the places of education, government service, business, healthcare, information, entertainment, social gatherings and others. Therefore, thoughtful planning and facilitations are needed to address their special needs. A person in wheel chair cannot climb stairs like normal people in schools, colleges, hospitals, government offices, meeting halls, airports, and theatres. Getting on and getting off the public vehicles is a big challenge for them. The physical facilities and buildings have to be designed in such a way that enables the differently abled people to have easy access to where they want to be. If public structures are not made with these special people in mind, they are bound to face obstacles whatever they want to do and wherever they want to go. Despite the constitutional provision in favour of the differently abled people, it is a hard fact that many public offices lack functioning facilities of access.

 Lifts, elevators, ramps, doors, windows, tactile blocks and other similar structures have not been found to be appropriately handicapped friendly. Suitable structures have to be designed in the place of religious prayers, workplaces, roads, lavatories, parking lots, recreation centres, playgrounds, shopping complexes and malls, hotels, restaurants and ATM services. In Nepal, the public transport sector is yet to design ticket counters and vehicles that are friendly for the differently abled people. We do have legal provisions in place that requires building disabled-friendly infrastructure, they are sadly not being followed with seriousness. An official of the National Association of Physically Disabled Nepal, says that even the government funded buildings and other infrastructures are not abiding by the handicapped friendly building code. The government has introduced the Accessible Physical Infrastructure and Communication Service Directive, but its implementation is said to be less than satisfactory.

A survey conducted in 2019 by the National Federation of the Disabled, found that 98 per cent of the capital valley's physical infrastructures are inaccessible to the differently abled people. Public transport is a sector where serious consideration is lacking when it comes to building appropriate infrastructure for the physically challenged people. But things are changing for better of late as public awareness in this issue is increasing. The Ministry of Urban Development has taken steps to revise its guidelines regarding the handicapped friendly infrastructure. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has also issued a circular to all local level governments to strictly enforce the existing building code to ensure the construction of handicapped friendly physical infrastructures.