Activists: Not part of disabled-friendly beach project

“The corporation is not giving us information on what they are doing. They have not been keeping us in the loop. While we have been demanding to involve us in the project, we have not received any positive response from the officials,” charged disability rights activist Smitha Sadasivan, adding that the Corporation has allegedly begun the work on the project. 

Stressing on the need for them to follow a standard set of guidelines that the Disability Rights Association (DRA) has for the building of the barrier-free pathways, architect Vidhya Vaishnavi said, “As it falls within the Coastal Regulation Zone rules, we cannot build anything permanent. We have plans for temporary structures which are environment-friendly too. We haven’t suggested using steel, concrete or any traditional construction materials.” 

Besides declining their plan, the Corporation refrained from sharing any information with the members of the DRA, alleged the activists. “We have absolutely no idea of what the Corporation is planning. When we met Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan, he merely said that the Tourism Department has allocated funds and work is being done on the beach,” added Vidhya. 

Members of the DRA, therefore, submitted two requests in a letter to the Corporation Commissioner. “We requested that the Corporation share the designs and plans with us and to include DRA in the discussions to make sure that everything is in order,” she added. The City Corporation Commissioner was not available for a comment.