New Delhi: In a New Year’s gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, the three most prominent ganga ghats in Varanasi have been allotted funds to become the first in the country with ramp access for the differently abled.
The Yogi Adityanath government, on January 1, has released half of the 3-crore budget sanctioned by the Centre for beginning work in Assi, Manikarna and Dashashwamedh ghats, according to the order accessed by ET. Currently, these ghats have steps but no handrails. As a result, the differently abled face difficulty in visiting these ghats. The ghats would now have ramps and handrails, which would help the wheelchairs reach the ganga aarti points.
A senior UP government functionary told ET that the Prime Minister took ‘personal interest’ in pushing the project after discovering the difficulties that the differently abled face here here. The project would be executed under the Accessible India programme of the Centre and would also involve setting up of accessible toilets, braille signage and drinking water facilities. Assi, Manikarna and Dashashwamedh ghats are the most visited places in Varanasi due to ganga aarti and boat rides.
An audit by Centre earlier had revealed how it was virtually impossible for the differently abled to visit these ghats. The report said the approach to these ghats was overcrowded with no dedicated lane or signage for the differently abled, the passageways were broken and uneven at many places and blocked by haphazardly packed vehicles. This would make the movement of wheelchair difficult. It has been proposed that ramps be built till the ganga aarti point and not right up to the river for the safety of the differently abled.
It was also proposed that roads to the ghats be levelled for the differently abled to access the entrance and a separate lane be built so that they can reach the ghats directly from the main entrance. A dedicated parking slot has also been proposed.
Source: Economic Times