ISBT Kohima lacks accessibility for PwDs

April 22, 2023 17 Views No Comment

Our Correspondent
Kohima | April 22

The State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (SCPwD) team today visited the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) Kohima and observed that “nothing has been done as per accessibility norms.”

Led by the State Commissioner Diethono Nakhro alongwith Nagaland State Disability Forum and legal team, it inspected disability compliance at the terminal and on public vehicles in the presence of officials from the state’s Transport Department.

Talking to media persons, Nakhro informed that various departments had in earlier years, put up various notifications in regard to making the facility, building and public spaces accessible. She said that enough time has been given to the various departments for action/step to be taken.

“Now, we want to see what is being done, what measure is being taken in order to implement the notifications that are coming out from the department itself,” she said. The notification cannot be just on paper, Nakhro stressed.

Stating that the SCPwD has taken up the matter with the various departments, she said “We will be taking up more inspection in the various departments.” We want to make sure that all the laws, provision of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, accessibility and various aspects of the Act is implemented properly in the state, she said.

On being asked whether they are satisfied with today’s inspection in ISBT, Nakhro said “We are not happy at all. We are not satisfied because nothing has been done as per the accessibility norms.”

Nakhro shared the fact that there is no ramp to the building. “That obviously shows that none of the accessibility standard norms has been followed,” she said.

She however stated that officials of the Transport Department present during the inspection, had assured to work together with SCPwD to get the things done on priority. “We will definitely follow up and keep on checking to see that all these things are done properly and at the earliest,” she said.

On being asked whether the SCPwD will be giving any particular time frame to the concerned departments, she said: “Yes, definitely, we have been doing that in all the various cases that we have been taking up. With regard to transport, which we inspected today, we will file our report and we will be giving a time frame for them to make sure that they start the work.”

Rozy M Athrila, Joint Secretary, Transport Department; T Elias Lotha, Transport Commissioner and other NST officials were present during the inspection.

It may be recalled that the Transport Department had issued a notification in 2019 informing that under Section 41 of the Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 the State Government is required to take suitable measures to provide facilities for persons with disabilities at bus stops, railway stations and airports and measures to access to all modes of transport.