On Wednesday, the Union government reported that major milestones have been achieved under its Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), an initiative launched in 2015 to take the country towards a more accessible environment for persons with disabilities. Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment B.L. Verma, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, revealed that 1,887 public buildings have been retrofitted, in addition to which more than 50,000 buses have been upgraded to be in line with accessibility. And states and Union territories have been allotted a total of 564.50 crore to be dedicated to these retrofitting endeavours.
At the railway stations around the country, the Ministry of Railways informed about major work to boost accessibility in these facilities. There are 5,639 installed stations of ramps, accessible parking installed at 2,525 stations, and accessible toilets at 4,829 stations. There are, furthermore, 5,854 stations, which offer wheelchairs. Handicapped passengers with a visual impairment, tactile paths, coach guidance systems, electronic suggestions, Train Indication Boards, and the Public Address systems have been provided to guide the visually impaired passengers during their smooth travel.
This is so in the road transport sector, where the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has reported that 51,041 of the 1.45 lakh buses that are run by 61 state transport undertakings in 24 states and UTs have been made available. This comprises 25,216 city-to-city coaches and 25,825 city buses. Moreover, approximately three-fourths of bus stations have been retrofitted in terms of accessibility.
The priority has also been given to digital accessibility. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has accredited 145 government websites, of which 123 are central, and four state government portals are made accessible as per STQC guidelines. Other 676 state and UT websites are enhanced with more than 3,000 websites brought on the S3WaaS platform.
The artificial limbs, hearing aids, smart canes, smartphones, motorised tricycles, etc., are also distributed under the scheme of Assistance to Persons with Disabilities, which benefits the school children under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
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