The lockdown in Delhi has ended and all monuments have opened. People are increasingly visiting several historic sites like forts, tombs, towers, and castles in Delhi.
During this meetup several UNESCO World Heritage monuments in Delhi were visited:
- Tughalak Tomb
- Safdarjung Tomb
- Red Fort
- Qutub Minar
- Old Fort
- Jamali Kamali Mosque
- Humayun Tomb
- Feroz Shah Kotla Fort
- Rajaon ki Baoli Stepwell
And the following was checked:
- Accessibility of the main entrance.
- Availability of ramps at various places.
- Accessibility of the washroom/toilet.
- Accessibility of the parking space.
- Availability of Tactile features for the Visually-Impaired.
Here are the findings of the various accessibility features at the monuments listed above.
1. Tughalak Tomb
This medieval monument understandably was inaccessible but the toilet/washroom that is recently constructed was a farce due to its location.
The toilet complex had a ramp and a separate chamber for the differently-abled but the place itself was accessible through a staircase which rendered it useless since it could not be accessed by a wheelchair.
2. Safdarjung Tomb
This monument is a shining example of how far the Archeological Survey of India or ASI that maintains all historic monuments in the country can go to make it super-easy to access for the differently-abled and the visually-challenged.
The parking was well-paved and leveled for easy movement of a wheelchair.
The entrance gate was leveled to ease the entry of differently-abled.
The washroom/toilets had an access ramp.
The main tomb also had an access ramp but was broken at a prominent place.
The monument had a tactile site-plan carved out in sandstone so that the visually-impaired can touch sense it to know the area around and decide on how to navigate.
There was even an information board made of metal with Braille indentations that the blind could read and learn about the monument and its history.
3. Red Fort
This is a huge premise spread out over several acres and it had ramps at every imaginable place to facilitate the easy movement of the differently-abled and the visually-impaired.
The entire Red Fort campus had leveled walking paths for easy movement of a wheelchair.
Huge accessible parking was available.
A separate washroom/toilet facility was provided with an access ramp.
4. Qutub Minar
This is perhaps the most visited monument in Delhi that hosts several monuments.
The common parking is leveled and has ramps at the main entrance from the road and also all over the parking to facilitate the movement of a wheelchair.
Temporary and permanent ramps are installed at every nook-and-corner of the Qutub Minar complex that also had handrails.
The huge toilet/washroom complex has several ramps to facilitate the movement of a wheelchairTactle pats are made available at the entrance of the main complex and at security checks.
5. Old Fort
The Old Fort parking area threw a super surprise by the Delhi government with a modern toilet/washroom having a nice ramp to facilitate the differently-abled.
The parking and also ticket counter had ramp access both at the entry and the exit.
A special feature at the Old Fort is tactile area-maps carved in sandstone and places at a dozen places so that the visually-impaired can touch sense it to know the directions to move around in the fort.
Accessible benches are placed in at least 30 places for those who want to rest for a while.
6. Jamali Kamali Mosque
This mosque is located in the Mehrauli Archeological Park in the southern part of Delhi.
This mosque had a ramp at the main entrance but was broken hence useless.
There were also a couple of ramps in good condition to enter the central area but were too narrow to be accessible for a standard wheelchair.
7. Humayun Tomb
This monument had extensive facilities to ease the experience of the differently-abled.
There is a room full of wheelchairs that the site manager promptly allocated to those in need so that the differently-abled need bot carry
their own.
At some places, the nicely leveled pathway ended in a staircase thus preventing the entrance of a wheelchair.
The security flap-gates were wide enough to facilitate the entry of a wheelchair.
The entire area was neatly leveled to facilitate easy movement of a wheelchair.
Some ramps were broken though.
8. Feroz Shah Kotla Fort
This historic fort had a ramp at the entrance and a leveled walkway throughout.
There were some narrow and broken ramps as well.
9. Rajaon ki Baoli Stepwell
This had a majestic ramp, one of the largest seen in any of the monuments that could easily take a wheelchair from the main gate close to the stepwell.
Conclusion
Monuments in Delhi are fully geared towards embracing the differently-abled in Delhi and though there were a few discontinuities, helpful people were always available nearby to ease the experience of the differently-abled.
Here’s the link to the meetup invite.
BR,
Tushar Suradkar
