the goan I network
MAPUSA
Deputy Speaker and Calangute MLA, Michael Lobo on Wednesday said Candolim beach will be the first beach in Goa that will be disabled friendly and further assured that by October all the other beaches in Calangute constituency will follow suit.
“Candolim beach will be the first beach to be made disabled friendly. By October, the beaches of Sinquerim, Calangute and Baga will also be added to the list of disabled friendly beaches,” Lobo said.
Lobo was speaking after inaugurating first of its kind and India’s first wheelchair accessible beach fest in Candolim on Wednesday.
Lobo said around 15,000 sq mts of land will be reserved for parking and other amenities in Candolim in which special facilities will be made for the disabled.
“We will add disabled friendly changing rooms and toilets so that the handicapped persons can get easy access to the beaches,” he said.
He further said special wooden ramps will be erected at all the entrances of the beaches so that the disabled can go with their wheelchairs close to the water.
The beach fest for the disabled was a novel initiative by UMOJA, India’s largest online travel platform.
The festival which was inaugurated on Wednesday will go on till April 9 at the Candolim beach.
The festival will provide wheelchair users and their families an opportunity to enjoy a completely accessible experience on the beach.
The organisers said the festival includes exciting water sports for wheelchair users like beach bowling, wheelchair cricket, kite flying, sand castle competitions and wheelchair dancing.
Anuradha Joshi, State Commissioner Disabilities, Avelino de Sa, President, Disability Rights Association of Goa, Yeshwant Holkar, Co-Founder & CEO, UMOJA and Benjamin Musgrave, co-founder & Chief Accessibility Officer, UMOJA were present at the event.
UMOJA has partnered with Disability Rights Association of Goa and ADAPT for the event along with Drishti Life Services as safety partners.
