Kathmandu, December 3:

While the world today observed the 15th International Disability Day with a slogan of access to technology, Nepalis sought commitment from government officials to restructure the government-owned physical infrastructure to make them disabled-friendly.

People living with disabilities today visited six ministries and the Parliament building inside the Singha Durbar today and urged the authorities to adopt disabled-friendly buildings.

Krishna Gautam, general secretary of Independent Living Center for People with Disabilities (CIL) Kathmandu, said: “Starting reconstruction of government infrastructure keeping in view the accessibility of the disabled people will certainly set a good example to others. We therefore, visited the ministries inside the Singh Durbar to draw the attention of the officials there to ensure accessibility for the disabled people at least to the ground floor.”

“Today the world is celebrating International Disability Day seeking access to technology, but we are seeking access to physical infrastructure,” he said. Officials at the Home Ministry have promised to reconstruct the building in two months, keeping in view the accessibility of disabled people, while others said they would improve infrastructure within six months.

The team visited the buildings of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry Information and Communication, Ministry of Physical Planning and Construction, Parliament Building, Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and Women, Children and Social Welfare. Meanwhile, National Federation of Disabled-Nepal also took out rally from Basantapur to mark the day.