If the roadmap is adhered to, the city inhabitants will in due course have enough motor roads, fewer traffic jams, smoother public transport, effective and sustainable garbage disposal, resettled squatter and slum populations, expanded sanitation facilities and clean water. But a section of the population, which comprises around 10-15 percent of all valley dwellers, will not benefit from these developments. These are the persons with disability (PWDs). I am one of those. It is to protect the rights of people like me that we demand that all new development and infrastructure projects in Kathmandu be accessible to PWDs.
Accessibility implies our ability to use or visit any facility without hassle. Disability rights activists advocate “equal access to social, political, and economic life which includes not only physical access but access to the same tools, services, organizations and facilities to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design which we all pay for”. The authorities should remember that Article 9 of the UN Convention on the rights of the persons with disability (UNCRPD), to which Nepal is a signatory, commits member countries to ensure full accessibility to all PWDs.
The access issue becomes increasingly important in view of ageing trend and close association between ageing and disability. Moreover, there is growing realization that improving access for PWDs will equally benefit a large number of other users of the facilities. Those beneficiaries include people carrying heavy loads, the frail, the parents with small children, etc. Sadly, the access issue of PWDs is often overlooked right from the designing through to the construction phases of public buildings, roads, services and facilities, thereby depriving them from precious opportunities. This is the reason physical infrastructures in our cities are haphazardly built, unnecessarily inconveniencing a significant number people. It is shameful that Kathmandu might be the only metropolitan city in the world without a single accessible public toilet for wheelchair users.
The situation of public transportation is even worse. If you are disabled and want to go outside, you would be advised to stay put. For the fundamental human right of mobility for the disabled has been brazenly violated. Even in big cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Dharan and Nepaljung, we get to witness motorbikes, cars and buses jostling for space on expanded roads, yet very few pay any attention to ease the mobility concerns of those with disabilities and the physically frail. Most of the roads have no pavements; the available footpaths are either narrow or blocked by huge electric poles and earthen wires installed haphazardly, not to mention the encroachment of footpaths for business purposes. This is the reason the visually impaired trying to find their way with the help of a stick or a cane meet with many accidents.
Buildings of academic institutions, government bodies, municipalities, even the UN, are inaccessible for PWDs, as if they are not human beings who need to visit these facilities built with the purported goal of facilitating the lives of common people. As a result, thousands of children and adults with disabilities are discouraged from going to school, from using transportation and recreation facilities, and from seeking employment and health services. Also, this hampers our chances of meeting important figures like ministers, university administrators and representatives of UN agencies in their offices. Legal provisions are yet to be put in place to develop disable-friendly environment in the country, which has been the case despite the government’s commitment to do so in various international forums and rights treaties.
Indeed, the accessibility factor is crucial in determining the degree of disability. An individual could suffer loss/damage to a particular organ or system but this alone does not make one disabled. What makes them feel disabled is the set up of a society geared to catering to ‘general’ populace. Therefore, a great number of citizens are excluded from the rights and opportunities that others take for granted. They are disabled more because of the limitation of opportunities to take part in the everyday life on an equal basis owing to various architectural, economic and social barriers.
These barriers are social constructs that forbid citizens from enjoying independent, productive and dignified life. Even what little disability-friendly infrastructure the country has does not meet technical standards and ends up being useless for intended users.
It is high time for us to sincerely take measures to remove barriers, combat discriminatory behavior, practices and policies to increase the participation of PWDs in public life and to grant them their legitimate rights and freedoms. With this in mind, the government should provision for minimum accessibility in all public buildings. A standard accessibility guideline with clear technical provisions is urgently needed. Wide consultation and active participation of the PWDs in the development of such guidelines is an imperative.
We have a great opportunity to develop Kathmandu as a truly modern city. As the drive towards that end is already underway with the ongoing road expansion project, it is important that KVTDA ensures road and other constructions are disability friendly as in cities like Bangkok, Pataya and New Delhi. Kathmandu will be a truly modern, inclusive and vibrant city only by ensuring the dignity and productivity of all city dwellers. If that happens, Sthapit and co will have truly succeeded.
The author is a human/disability rights activist presently associated with ActionAid
meenraj.panthee@live.com
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