Museums made accessible to mark day for specially-abled

kolkata: The Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH) and the Indian Museum celebrated International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3), Friday by making their respective museums accessible to the disabled persons to the best of their ability.

The VMH authorities formally inaugurated a newly-created 'barrier-free access pathway' (384 metres-long) from the South Gate of its campus to its museum galleries from the south side of the museum building.

The south gate is near the base of the AJC Bose Road flyover. The 'barrier free access pathway' is made of a cement base topped with a layer of tiles that includes a ramp.Till now, the journey from the gate to the galleries was walking on gravels and it was practically impossible for wheel chairs to roll on it.

According to Dr Jayanta Sengupta, the curator and secretary of VMH, the project is dedicated to the memory of VMH's former secretary and curator, professor Hirendranath Chakrabarti (1930-2021), and is made possible by generous grants from late professor Chakrabarti's son, Suma Chakrabarti, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).The Indian Museum collaborated with Ramkrishna Mission Blind Boys Academy to make its painting gallery accessible for the visually challenged. Secretary, Ramkrishna Mission, Narendrapur Sarvalokanandaji Maharaj was present on the occasion.It also joined hands with Films Division of India, to screen a documentary film by Satyajit Ray on Benode Behari Mukherjee to inspire the visually-challenged and to make their challenges better understood to the society.

The theme proclaimed this year is 'Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-Covid 19 world.'