A section of differently abled people, particularly those with walking disabilities, have complained about lack of toilet facilities for them at the District Differently abled Welfare Office (DDWO), located on the old Ramanathapuram Collectorate premises on Panagal Road.
S. Raja, general secretary of Crawling Differently abled People Federation, said that his association and many other differently abled people had been petitioning the district administration for the past few years regarding the issue but no action had been taken.
Pointing out that the office catered to thousands of differently abled people from the district, Mr. Raja said that people visiting the office often had to wait for long hours to get their work done and hence toilets that were friendly to differently abled people were an absolute necessity.
“Most of us approach the office for getting identity cards and applying for various welfare benefits. The toilet inside the office are primarily meant for the staff. Even on occasions when they allow us to use it, we have difficultys using them since they are not differently abled-friendly,” he said,
Requesting anonymity, another man with walking disability from Tirumangalam, said that he had to take an autorickshaw in search of a pay-and-use toilet nearby when he visited the office recently.
“The situation is worse for the differently abled women,” he added.
When contacted, a senior official said that a proposal had been made under the Scheme for Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA) to construct a differently abled-friendly toilet on the premises.
“The fund allocation is pending. Meanwhile, we are also approaching private companies to check if they can provide funds through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Apart from the toilets, we are also planning to build a ramp and lay paver blocks in front of the office building to help the differently abled people,” the official said.
