PROMENADING AT DT CINEMAS – NOT EASY FOR QUADRIPLEGICS

I made my second visit to DLF Place Vasant Kunj in about six months. On both the occasions I had to take the service lift, instead of the normal passenger lift, to reach DT Cinema Premises. The service lift is used by the internal staff to transport heavy raw materials of various types. There are just two service lifts which are hard to locate for a first timer in a wheelchair.

The normal passenger lift goes upto the second floor which has a reservation counter for booking tickets and then there is a small staircase and an escalator positioned adjacent to each other to enable the “able” community reach any one of the seven screens.

Clearly a wheelchair bound person cannot perform the twin tasks of booking tickets and watching a show without going through the hassle of making the up and down journey twice through the elevators.

How nice it would have been if the internal staircase on the second floor is converted into a cemented ramp which can be used by everyone irrespective of disability.

The situation at DLF Place Saket is extremely hilarious. A wheelchair bound person can go right upto the entrance gate of any one of screens to be greeted by an insurmountable flight of steps.

At Selectcity Walk Mall Saket the small staircase leading upto the theatre is equipped with a chair which does an inclined journey both ways. All this fuss instead of making a simple ramp. Imagine how laborious it is shift an adult quadriplegic from one piece of furniture to another repeatedly. The sad part is even after doing the upward accent, a wc bound person cannot watch a show. The culprit – staircase inside the auditorium.

Some of the malls in Noida and Ghaziabad are entirely disable friendly. Perhaps the malls in South Delhi can make small changes in their internal design to make life easy for persons like me.

While returning to the basement parking at DLF Promenade I was laughing inconsolably at being equated to heavy lifeless goods.

I politely refused to assist a young “aati kya khandala” couple who approached me for directions to a passenger lift.