Hyderabad opened its first 'differently abled-friendly' park on Friday, complete with facilities such as an amphitheatre, a sensory theatre, therapy block and counselling centre.
The park at Nalgonda crossroads in Malakpet, was inaugurated by Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao, over an area of 1.03 acres, built at the cost of Rs 1.77 crore.
In a press release, the government said that the park had been designed to provide easy access to the blind, hearing-impaired and wheelchair-bound people, and added that there were plans to start such parks in all municipal blocks in the state.
The park has also been designed with a barrier-free path for the safety and independence of differently abled people, especially the visually impaired.
The park has been divided into two parts. While one part deals with recreation, the other deals with therapy.
Reports add that the park will be maintained under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Ayesha Educational Society.
Here are some photos of the park.
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Meanwhile, an indoor badminton stadium was also inaugurated by the Minister at Moosarambagh. Out of the total cost of Rs 1.2 crore for the stadium, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi contributed Rs 60 lakh from his Members of Parliament’s Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), while the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation sanctioned Rs 60 lakh for it.
In November last year, keeping in mind the challenges that differently abled persons face while navigating an urban space, the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) said that it had provided facilities that would aid them.
“We have considered the needs of the differently abled, right from the design stage itself at the ground level, entry/exits, escalators, lifts, fare gates, ticket vending machines, tiling on the platform and the signages for their convenience,” HMR MD NVS Reddy told reporters.