Gujarat has launched its latest project on making beaches more inclusive for the disabled. The Tithal beach in Valsad district is all set to become the first disabled-friendly beach in India.

One of the biggest impediments for the disabled population in India is lack of proper infrastructure in public places.

Most public places like hospitals, movie theatres, train stations, beaches and parks, lack the necessary facilities for the disabled. They are left with no choice but to depend on someone for help.

Many attempts to make public areas inclusive for the disabled have been successful, but we are still a long way to go.



What does a disabled-friendly beach entail?

The main idea is to design the infrastructure to leave no room for the need of dependency for the disabled and also to rule out discrimination against them.

Meaning, they are going to focus on every aspect from facilities on the beach - washrooms to the food court, reports the TOI.

The plan of action:

Work on equipping 1 km stretch of the Vithal beach with disabled-friendly facilities have commenced and is tentatively going to be open for public use by June this year. Ramps and railings will lead up from the parking area to the beach. Everything from washrooms to food court will be accessible for those who use wheelchairs. The food counters will be at a lower height for the disabled. The total budget for the first phase is set to Rs 5 crore. The plans have been chalked out in close consultation with the disabled.

The Tithal Beach is the most popular tourist spot in Gujarat with an average of thousand visitors on a weekly basis. People with disability were missing out on the experience, as it is an arduous task to negotiate a wheelchair on sand.

Many officials have lauded to the sensitivity of the government towards the issues.

Valsad collector Vikrant Pandey said, "It will be first of its kind beach in India". He added the project has been inspired from the central government's Accessible India campaign.

The Red Ramp Project:

A similar initiative for making beaches accessible for disabled persons was launched in Goa last year.

The campaign also invited people to an online platform to share images of places that need ramps in India, and are requesting people to sign a petition asking for more accessibility.

Although the project was a temporary one, it was one of the first few attempts at exploring the problem of inaccessibility for the disabled in public spaces like beaches.



A tour around few disabled-friendly beaches in the world:

Almost all of the beaches in California are disabled-friendly, with abundant wheelchairs, boardwalks and ramps.

Picture for representation:Twiiter Picture for representation:Twiiter

Beaches Resort in Pattaya, Thailand is entirely connected with ramps stretching from the beach water to rooms for the disabled.

Picture for representation: Twitter Picture for representation: Twitter

Sirens Resort in Loutraki, Greece is another spectacular example of disabled-friendly infrastructure, with pathways for wheel-chairs to roll-in-showers.