The differently-abled people have a reason to cheer as the Centre has approved a grant of Rs. 5 crore to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to make five of its World Heritage Sites and 25 other ticketed monuments accessible to persons with disabilities.
The World Heritage Monuments for which accessibility has been sanctioned are: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri (all in Agra Circle, Uttar Pradesh); Sun Temple at Konark (Bhubaneswar Circle in Orissa) and Jami Masjid Champaner-Pavgadh (Vadodara Circle in Gujarat).
Some other important ticketed monuments, for which accessibility has been sanctioned, include the Charminar, the Golconda Fort (Hyderabad), Nagarjunakonda (in Guntur), the Sun Temple at Modhera (in Gujarat), Laxman Temple at Sirpur (in Chhattisgarh) and temples in Bhubaneswar.
The funds released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will be used to undertake the works for making access pathways, ramps, accessible toilets, tactile maps, Braille signage, and modifications in ticket counters.
Funds to States
This Ministry has been, over the years, giving financial assistance to the States, Universities for the same purpose. It may be recalled that accessibility for persons with disabilities is one of the core provisions of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in May 2008.
