Working towards a Disabled-Friendly Dilli Haat

Barrier-free tourism in India may come of age once the tourism department agrees to the alteration and modification of Delhi's Dilli Haat - a crafts bazaar par excellence. The Delhi government is considering a proposal to redesign Dilli Haat so that it is completely accessible to people with disabilities. Changes in Dilli Haat will include making the ragged stones at the entrance smoother, a separate parking lot for the disabled, ramps and railings along the complex and modifications in the toilets.

"As soon as the tourism department okays the proposal, we will quickly clear it so that work on Dilli Haat may take off immediately," assured chief minister Sheila Dikshit. "However, it is necessary for the original designers of Dilli Haat to be involved in the renovation so that the ambience is not affected."

So Pradeep Sachdeva, the brain behind Dilli Haat and the upcoming Garden of Five Senses, has already drawn up the list of changes required to make Dilli Haat disabled-friendly. "The conceptual detailing and designing stages are over," Sachdeva, who heads Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, said. "We have also submitted to the Delhi government the cost estimate, pegged at about Rs 7.5 lakh. The proposal is now being scrutinised by Delhi Tourism's engineering department, after which they will invite bids for contracts. Once the official proceedings come through, the work should be through in three-four months," Sachdeva said.

Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation managing director Naini Jayaseelan said the project had been forwarded to the Union tourism department for approval. "Such projects requiring infrastructural changes need to be approved by the Centre. The project will cost around Rs 8-10 lakh," she said.

"Many parts of Dilli Haat are not accessible to the disabled, as they are placed at various heights," Sachdeva said. "We have to make ramps available in such places," he said.

Nearly 1.8 lakh people visit Dilli Haat every month, about 500 being foreigners. It houses 62 permanent structures, 16 big and nine small food stalls representing cuisines from all over the country. "This is precisely the reason why we selected Dilli Haat," said Sanjeev Sachdeva, co-founder of Samarthya, an NGO working for the disabled. Samarthya had conducted an access survey in Dilli Haat in December last year. "Our team consisted of five members with various kinds of disabilities - two with muscular dystrophy, one suffering from cerebral palsy, one using crutches and one hearing impaired. We then submitted our findings and suggested changes to Pradeep Sachdeva," Sanjeev, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, said.

"Since Dilli Haat houses food and clothing outlets from all over India, making it disabled-friendly would mean spreading the message to other parts of the country as well," Anjlee, national coordinator of Samarthya, said.

After a combined access survey with Pradeev Sachdeva, Samarthya approached DTTDC, as Dilli Haat comes under its jurisdiction. "Besides structural changes, we suggested that at least two wheelchairs be provided at the entrance," said Sanjeev. "Even here, the ticket-counter is too high for many disabled people. We also proposed guiding blocks for the blind and braille plates for the visually impaired."

Once the project comes through, tourist operators should include Dilli Haat in their sight-seeing package so that people from other parts of the country and the world may see what barrier-free tourism is all about, suggested Sanjeev.