CMDA to improve accessibility of Kilambakkam Bus Terminus based on High Court’s recommendations

CMDA to open Kilambakkam Bus Terminus before Pongal, make it accessible to persons with disabilities.

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), which has announced that Kilambakkam Bus Terminus will be opened before Pongal, will carry out work to make the facility accessible to persons with disabilities, based on recommendations made by the Madras High Court.

Activist Vaishnavi Jayakumar had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition regarding the creation of a barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities. The CMDA had earlier undertaken several remedial measures based on the first access audit carried out by a group of representatives for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on September 15. 

A senior official of the CMDA said several rectification tasks, as per the guidelines under the ‘Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-Free Built Environment for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly Persons’, had been completed based on a previous hearing held on December 15. They are also ready to accommodate any new modifications the Madras High Court may demand in the next hearing, which is scheduled to be held on January 24, he added.

The CMDA official also said they had proposed to allot one shop for a person with physical disability, and the eligible person would be selected from the list provided by the district administration. The group of NGOs, which submitted the final access audit report to the CMDA officials on Tuesday, pointed out that a boarding platform accessible to persons with disabilities needed to be constructed.