The Hindu 02.12.2011
Coimbatore city to have toilets for differently abled
Twelve facilities will be constructed at a total cost of Rs. 28.20 lakh
Rupees 28.20 lakh for construction of 12 toilets for the orthopedically challenged is a small money as far as the Coimbatore Corporation is concerned. But that money is bound to take the city to the next level – one that is friendly for persons with disability.
“It is a first, positive step from the Corporation,” welcomed Surya Nagappan of Caliber, an organisation for the differently abled.
At its first Council meeting on Wednesday, the Coimbatore Corporation decided to construct the toilets at 12 places in the city at Rs. 28.20 lakh. Of the amount, the Corporation will spend Rs. 7.68 lakh and the rest will be from the State Government under the Part II Scheme.
Commissioner T.K. Ponnusamy told The Hindu that the civic body will float the tender in a couple of days for the construction of the toilets and the same will be ready for use in about six months.
Sources in the engineering wing said that differently abled people would be able to take their vehicles or wheel chairs right into the complex, park them adjacent to the lavatory and use the facility. They will have a stainless steel handrail for support.
The complex would also have a wash basin, liquid soap dispenser and towel.
Mr. Ponnusamy said the civic body would be in-charge of the maintenance of all the 12 facilities.
Mr. Nagappan hoped that the Corporation's initiative would be an eye opener for others to emulate and establish such facilities in their premises.
He suggested that the toilets should not have tiled flooring as the differently abled would find them slippery.
This is a welcome step but there were much more the civic body and other State agencies could take, said M.N.G. Mani, Secretary General, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment.
The next should be auditory traffic signals to help visually challenged cross the road. It was a small technological intervention with very little financial implication.
He also felt that the toilets would help create awareness among people who were unaware of the differently abled people's needs.
