Says Mahesh Kapoor, director, Commercial and Marketing, ITDC, ``We have written to the Indian Hoteliers Federation and the Hotel Classification Review Committee on the need to develop barrier-free hotels.''

Promotion of employment for disabled people is not possible unless the total environment is also conducive. Without education, rehabilitation or accessibility, it is not possible to increase employment opportunities in a meaningful way. Explains Rama Chari, executive officer, the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).

``The environment that is being created todayhas not kept in sight the needs of disabled people at all. Whether it is day-to-day access to public transport, schools and colleges or access to government buildings, there are many restrictions. Eventhe staircases are not meant for the physically challenged. Therefore, even if a disabled person gets employed, he or she may not take it up owing to lack of accessibility,'' she says. Chari sites a Delhi-centric example to explain this. Say, a paraplegic residing in NOIDA gets a job in Connaught Place. She can't travel in public buses or even chartered buses, since the doors of the buses are not designed accordingly.

She will have to hail auto-rickshaws or cabs. ``If the job does not pay well or the company does not extend benefits, she may not take up the job for the simple reason that she can't reach that place.'' She adds, ``Even if she manages to reach the place, the design of the office may not encourage a disabled person since there are no ramps to offer easier access to the building,'' she adds.

Evenwhen a disabled person goes out of town, he or she invariably incurs more cost. Travelling by a higher class in the railways or by air is not a luxury but a necessity for a disabled person. ``Staying in any hotel is not feasible. One has to look for hotels which are more or less accessible to the needs of a disabled person. Such hotels are mostly on the expensive side. Most disabled people travel with an escort and therefore the cost of both travel as well as staying in hotels goes up automatically,'' says Tanuja Varma, executive officer, NCPEDP.

It is in this background that the ITDC discount to the disabled becomes very important. ``In all our hotels, spread across the country, we will offer 50 per cent discount on room rent to disabled people. The attendant to the person will not be charged anything extra and the tariff for a double room will effectively be for just one room. Besides this, there will be 30 per cent discount on food on the a-la-carte menu in all ITDC hotels,'' says Kapoor.

Another vitaldecision taken by the tourism corporation is ensuring that at least one room out of every 50 rooms would be made accessible and disabled friendly. Not only this, Kapoor has displayed individual initiative in urging the Hotel Classification Review Committee to include the parameter of accessibility to the disabled in its judgment criteria.

The NCPEDP has also taken several initiatives in the recent past to encourage a barrier-free and non-handicapping environment -- by writing to two of the apex architecture bodies (the Council of Architecture, New Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Architects, Mumbai) and by tying up with the University Grants Commission (UGC) to come out with a special policy on higher education for persons with special needs. ``The UGC in its ninth five year plan has allocated Rs 43.6 lakh specifically for developing special education teacher preparation programmes and a scheme to provide special assistance to disabled persons to facilitate better accessibility to higher education'' addsVarma.

The UGC is also encouraging establishment of special disability units in the universities and colleges. ``These will be exclusive single windows to aid physically handicapped students seeking admission. These will also provide guidance and counselling to disabled individuals and assist disabled graduates to gain successful employment,'' informs Javed Abidi, executive director with NCPEDP.

``The physical barriers have begun to crash. Now it is the turn of attitudes,'' says Chari.