Dilli Haat to be made accessible for disabled

NEW DELHI: Over a year after the first plan was mooted to make Dilli Haat accessible to the disabled, work is finally set to begin on Friday. The project is being financed by Delhi Tourism."The contract has been awarded and work will begin on Friday. We hope to complete it in two months," a Delhi Tourism official said.This phase of renovation, costing about Rs 9 lakh, however, will not include the toilets."A separate project will be undertake to re-do the entire toilet complex," an official said.The plan for a new toilet block would, however, take a while, said Delhi Tourism managing director Rajiv Talwar. "The toilets will be made disabled-friendly. But whether the entire toilet complex needs to be redone or not will have to be reviewed," he said.The redesigning is being done by Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, who had originally designed the Dilli Haat at INA and the upcoming one at Pitampura. "The idea is to make Dilli Haat a model for constructing accessible buildings," said Pradeep Sachdeva. "The Dilli Haat we are designing at Pitampura will include all features that will make it accessible to the physically challenged," he said.The proposal was first mooted by Samarthya, a non-government organisation working for people with various disabilities, which is also cooperating with Delhi Tourism for the project. The NGO had conducted an audit of Dilli Haat in December 2000 and suggested changes to make it accessible to all."This is not only for the disabled," said Samarthya co-founder Sanjeev Sachdeva. "It will benefit the elderly, the frail, people with physical ailments, children and also shoppers commuting with heavy bags," he said.Here's what's in store for the Dilli Haat at INA: A portion of the floor of the front plaza to be smoothened to allow movement of wheelchairs Height of one of the ticket counters to be lowered Ramps alongside steps Tactile blocks the for visually impaired A separate parking facility for the disabled.