Activists Criticise Steep Ramp at Rs 15 Lakh Saidapet Bus Shelter

Disability rights activists in Chennai have raised concerns over the accessibility of an under-construction bus shelter on Taluk Office Road in Saidapet, pointing out that a newly added switchback ramp remains too steep for wheelchair users. The Greater Chennai Corporation installed the modified ramp two weeks after activists initially flagged accessibility barriers at the site.

The bus shelter, located near the Saidapet Metropolitan Magistrates Court, is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 15 lakh. It had previously come under scrutiny for being elevated nearly two feet above road level and featuring six steps alongside an initial steep ramp.

Vaishnavi Jayakumar of the Disability Rights Alliance stated that the newly constructed switchback ramp remains steep and difficult for wheelchair users to navigate. In a post on X addressed to the deputy mayor and the civic body, she questioned if the project was turning into a comedy of errors. Corporation officials responded that the issue would be examined and rectified.

Activists pointed out that the civic body is failing to adhere to its own Inclusive Design Manual. The manual stipulates that pedestrian and wheelchair ramps should not exceed a gradient of 1:12.

Similar accessibility problems were also highlighted at another bus shelter in Kotturpuram, constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 22 lakh. Sathish Kumar of the Disability Rights Alliance noted that the roof of the Kotturpuram structure sits half a foot away from the shelter, requiring buses to stop about a foot away to prevent collisions and preventing level-boarding for passengers.

Addressing the Kotturpuram facility, civic officials stated that the structure had to be elevated by approximately one-and-a-half feet to accommodate a stormwater drain and an underground 33-kV TNEB cable running directly beneath it.