On the occasion of International Day of People with Disability, a ramp was installed at Marina Beach for disabled people to access the shore. This is happening for the third year in a row, but disability rights activists faced some trouble while seeking permission this time around.
While seeking permission for the ramp has been a relatively easy affair for the last two years, the disability rights activists had their hearts in their mouth, after the city police had initially refused to permit the ramp.
The city police had stated reasons such as the Jallikattu protests of 2017, which caused law and order problems and a Madras High Court Order denying permission to farmer leader P Ayyakkannu to fast unto death at Marina, to deny permission, in the show cause notice it had issued on November 27.
“We just want PWDs to be able to access the beach. We are not going to conduct any meetings or protests so there is no question of law and order being disturbed,” Smitha Sadasivan, member of Disability Rights Alliance, told Express, claiming the same was conveyed to the City Police Commissioner in the reply she submitted on November 29.
Considering the clarifications, the city police have permitted the ramp on Saturday. The Chennai Corporation has started installing the temporary ramp and has assured that it will be ready by Sunday night. Speaking on this, a senior official from the Chennai Corporation said, “We were just awaiting the green light from the city police to begin installations.”
