It is located at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park.
DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V
Bengaluru: Despite its exclusive design for children with disabilities, the disabled friendly park at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan has received lower-than-expected footfall since its 2022 opening.
A collaborative effort between the Bal Bhavan Society and Mindtree Foundation, access to the park is limited to children and individuals with disabilities, along with their guardians.
"The park is completely tailor-made for physically challenged children, with wheelchair friendly swings and sand tubs for the locomotive development of children with disabilities,” Nishchal, secretary of Bal Bhavan, told DH. A dedicated area ensures enhanced maintenance and safety, he added.
Some people DH spoke to said they were unaware of the park's existence, while others, though appreciating the facilities, felt more could be done to maintain the place.
Manikantha from the Association of People with Disability (APD) told DH that the children from APD enjoyed their visit to the park. "Our children from APD did not face any difficulty in playing and getting the best out of their outing last year," he said.
Ravi Ganeshan, head of disability programmes at Fourth Wave Foundation, said inclusive parks are crucial for the development of children with disabilities and a fundamental need for a city. “But having a separate space for them and barring the entry of the others defeats the purpose of inclusion,” he said.
Ganeshan argued that while special schools cater to specific requirements without violating rights, having exclusive parks contradicts the universal understanding of inclusion.
"In principle, we believe that children with disabilities should grow up hand-in-hand with the rest of them,” he said.