To address making the famous Five Gardens more accessible for people with special needs, the BMC held a special meeting at the F-North Ward office on Friday. Locals worry that the planned modifications would jeopardise the area’s robust walkways and greenery, highlighting the need to strike a balance between preservation and accessibility.
Starting with Five Gardens, the BMC and Access to Hope, an NGO, have partnered to improve public infrastructure accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Accessibility activist Jasmina Khanna, who has cerebral palsy, and her physiotherapist Sanket Khadilkar, who also serves as the NGO’s managing trustee, are at the forefront of Access to Hope.
“Accessibility is not a luxury or a privilege, it is a human and fundamental right,” Khadilkar stated, citing numerous court rulings supporting its implementation.
However, residents of Dadar Parsi Colony expressed worries about the abuse and damage to accessible infrastructure, the concretisation at tree roots, and the negative effects of building on the 100-year-old basalt stone walkways. — Pendharkar, Ananya.
Source: The Times of India
