PANJIM: The Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG) has demanded public toilets to be made accessible for persons with disability within next three months.
In a letter to the State Disability Commissioner and both the District Collectors, the DRAG president Avelino De Sa stated “November 19 is World Toilet Day. We are shocked to note that even after seven years of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016 there is a very big shortage of accessible public toilets for persons with disability in the State thereby causing discrimination and great hardships to persons with disability and the elderly and violating their right to health.”
De Sa said that Section 40 to 45 of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016 mandates that establishments in the government and private sector i.e. offices, hospitals and health centres, educational institutes, hotels and restaurants, petrol pumps, religious places, stadiums and recreational centres, market places, bus stands, railway stations etc should conform to the accessibility standards laid down by the government. This includes the toilets in the establishment.
De Sa said that persons with disability and the elderly comprising of eight per cent of Goa’s population already have inherent health issues and lack of accessible public toilets complicates the issues and adds to their kidney damage. Women with disability also face many problems due to lack of accessible public toilets and are forced to stay at home during their monthly periods thereby affecting their education employment and entertainment.
