Victoria Memorial gearing up to make museum disabled-friendly

Kolkata: Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH) is taking a slew of measures to make the museum friendly for disabled persons. The renovation of the museum had started a few years ago and will be completed by March 2019.

It will have elevator facilities for disabled and elderly persons, so that they can also explore the galleries situated in the first floor of the museum. The VMH will also create Braille signages involving the principal objects of the museum, so that a disabled person can explore the museum on his/her own, without taking the help of guides available in the museum.

"It is always a challenge for a museum to make it accessible for differently-abled people and persons with severe physical and emotional challenges. VMH is one of the most visited museums in the country and we are leaving no stones unturned to make it more friendly for the physically challenged ones," said Jayanta Sengupta, curator and secretary of VMH. It may be mentioned that VMH has a collection of around 2,000 objects on display. "It is an uphill task to create Braille signages for all the objects, but we will be doing so for the prime attractions of the museum," Sengupta added.

At present, there is a ramp on the exit side to climb up to the ground floor. However, there is a barrier of two stairs before reaching up to the floor. A person with an automated wheelchair is unable to climb up to the floor on his/her own. They need the service of the staff to climb the stairs.

"These barriers will be lifted soon and a physically challenged person will be able to reach the ground floor on his/her own," a senior VMH official said. The VMH has already made two battery-operated golf carts available, on which disabled persons can reach the museum from the gate. "These vehicles were earlier used only for security purposes," he added.

Monday being the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the VMH will hold a hands-on workshop where top experts will share their views on the subject related to accessibility and inclusion in museums. A number of disabled persons will also be present in the workshop.

Later in the afternoon, the VMH will host a lecture on 'Making Museums Accessible', by Siddhant Shah, the founder of AccessForALL.co (AFA), which aims to bridge the gap between cultural heritage and disabilities and focuses on physical, intellectual and social access in museums and heritage sites.