Govt Museum at Egmore inaccessible for disabled

CHENNAI: The government museum at Egmore, one of the city's most popular tourist destinations with high footfalls, remains inaccessible for one section of visitors: the differently abled. This, despite the PWD spending 2 crore last year to make it accessible and promote it under the accessible India campaign.
The much advertised stairlifts in the anthropology gallery are locked and ramps outside the galleries and the buildings are not connected to footpaths.The numistics gallery doesn't have ramps or lifts to the second floor. The basement containing children's museum is inaccessible. The roads are not wheelchair friendly as storm water drain cover have railings where wheels get stuck and many ramps are not of the right width. There are six buildings with 46 galleries on the 16-acre campus.
A couple from Kerala, Jomi John Joseph and his wife Mareli Roy, who visited on Friday gave a written complaint to the director and were promised action. Assistant director Vetri Veera Pandian said about 40 members of the agency incharge of managing and unlocking the facilities were unavailable on Friday. Starting Monday everyone will be available, he said.

Jomi John Joseph, who has a spinal cord injury, said he was independent and drove his car. "When questioned about inaccessibility, they offered to lift me up. They should ensure that the campus and buildings are accessible if they claim it to be," he said. Mareli Roy said they faced problems from the ticket counter. The ramp near the counter near the parking lot was blocked by a government vehicle. "Then the roads were not safe as the drains had open railings. In many buildings with ramps, there was no way we could climb on unless someone picked us up."