IIT-Kharagpur to Offer New Course on Building Accessibility in Collaboration with Centre's Disability Affairs Department

Civil engineering students at IIT-Kharagpur will soon be able to study building accessibility, with the Centre’s disability affairs department collaborating with the premier institute to launch a new course, according to officials. The first-of-its-kind course, which will be given as an elective for the time being, will be available to students in the sixth and seventh semesters beginning with the 2024-25 academic session. The Centre intends to introduce the course in 27 institutes, including other IITs.The subject will be taught as an elective in the civil engineering curriculum at IIT-Kharagpur during the sixth and seventh semesters. It will hold 30 credits.

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Partnership with NIUA

Starting in September, it will be available as an elective at IIT-Kharagpur for three years, after which it may become a mandatory subject,” the official said. IIT-Kharagpur had previously collaborated with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) on ‘Building Accessible, Safe, and Inclusive Indian Cities’ (BASIIC). The institute’s leading experts, Subrata Chattopadhyay and Haimenti Banerjee from the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, have been tasked with establishing the “Accessible Built Environment” course in collaboration with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

“Constructing accessible buildings needs experts and our future infrastructure builders must have professional training about the same.”We have been teaching our students about green buildings. However, it is past time that we formalize the construction of accessible buildings in our curriculum. “For the time being, the course will be offered as an elective,” a senior IIT Kharagpur official told PTI.

Course Details

The course will cover smart and inclusive habitat, accessibility, infrastructure-driven livability, and urban planning. The program is part of the government’s Accessible India 2.0 effort, which seeks to achieve universal accessibility for people with disabilities (PWDs). Under the Accessible India program, the government is attempting to make its buildings across the country accessible to individuals with disabilities. One of the suggestions of the Disabilities Bill, which was passed by Parliament in 2016, was to set a timeframe for creating barrier-free access to buildings and transportation networks.

The Accessible India campaign aimed to make 50% of public buildings and transportation accessible to the disabled by July 2018. Access audits were carried out on 1,671 structures in 48 cities. The Centre received financial bids to retrofit 1,484 structures. The Social Justice Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that work on 1,314 structures has been sanctioned, and 623 buildings in 20 states have been retrofitted. Following the audits, state governments submitted proposals to the DEPwD, which released cash for retrofitting these buildings. According to Section 44 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, retrofitting standards included the installation of ramps in public buildings, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, and Braille symbols in elevators.

Conclusion

The introduction of a new course on building accessibility at IIT-Kharagpur marks a significant step towards creating more inclusive and accessible environments. This elective, which will be available to civil engineering students in the sixth and seventh semesters starting from the 2024-25 academic session, reflects a broader initiative to incorporate accessibility into educational curriculums across the country. By collaborating with the Centre’s Disability Affairs Department and potentially expanding to other institutes, this course aims to equip future engineers with the knowledge and skills to design and construct accessible buildings. This initiative aligns with the Accessible India 2.0 effort, promoting universal accessibility and improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.