Raised tiles to aid blind in navigating govt buildings in Amritsar

The district administration has begun installing special touch-sensitive tactile tiles at the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) and various government offices across the city to assist visually impaired persons. The initiative follows directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. These tiles will enable visually impaired individuals to access offices independently, without having to rely on others for assistance.

Work is progressing swiftly at the ISBT, while installation has also commenced at the Deputy Commissioner’s office located in the Mini Secretariat. The tiles have already been laid on the third floor, and work on the first and second floors is currently underway.

The project is being implemented in compliance with the High Court’s orders, and tactile tiles will be installed in all government offices across the city. The Public Works Department (PWD) has been entrusted with executing the work.

PWD Executive Engineer Kushaldeep Singh Randhawa said that in the coming days, tactile tiles will be installed in all government offices to ensure that visually impaired persons do not face inconvenience while accessing public services.

Tactile tiles are specially designed with raised surfaces featuring embossed patterns such as dots and elongated bars that can be detected through touch. When a visually impaired person walks over these tiles using a cane, they can identify the direction of the path, detect turns and sense obstacles ahead.

PWD officials said these raised tiles are installed on floors to help blind and low-vision individuals navigate pathways safely and confidently. The initiative is being seen as a significant step towards promoting accessibility and empowering persons with disabilities to become more self-reliant.