People having disabilities are demanding the speedy construction of disabled-friendly public infrastructures in Itahari. They said public infrastructures do need to have accessibility to all people with disabilities.
”There are just three ward offices- namely ward number 1,2 and 6- which are little accessible”, said Dilkumari Rai, Itahari’s leading female leader with disability.
She added, ”Out of 20, just three have such accessible infrastructures but all other 17 wards are not disabled-friendly thanks to the governmental inability to construct accessible infrastructures.” Rai said not all public roads; toilets and buildings in Itahari are accessible.
”Even for a brief shopping and stroll with our accessible vehicles, we can’t walk without our support person,” Rai added.
Similar is the tale of Man Bahadur Bhujel. He felt hard to cast his vote in recently concluded elections at the local level. ”Volunteers were very helpful but infrastructures were not,” said Bhujel, ”My wheelchair was not rolled up to the election booth on my own. It is just because of lack of good public accessible infrastructures.”
Bhujel said he had to come home faster for his defecation after the elections, as there was no accessible toilet in the pooling area of the Itahari-2 Debithan area. This is not the plight of Dilkumari Rai and Man Bahadur Bhujel. This is the collective plights of all estimated 2000 people with some sort of disabilities in Itahari.
”It is not just a governmental responsibility but also constitutional and legal obligations to make accessible public infrastructures for all people with disabilities,” said Semanta Koirala, a young advocate based in Itahari.
He said, ”Unwillingness to construct accessible public infrastructures is the unconstitutional and illegal move on part of the government. This needs to be addressed at the earliest.”
Koirala said a Sub-Metropolitan City like Itahari must display strong constitutional and legal obligations to its citizens with all forms of disabilities.
