GURUGRAM: A 22-year-old woman, bound to the wheelchair, has accused a café in DLF Cyber Hub of not allowing her entry on Friday and instead asking her to opt for an outdoor sitting in the cold weather.
The café management said the incident was being “grossly misrepresented” while the Gurugram administration is planning to issue a notice to the eatery soon.
On Friday night, 22-year-old Srishti Pandey had gone for dinner with her friends and family to Raasta in Cyber Hub. She alleged that the manager initially ignored their requests to allow them a table for four inside and then told them that a wheelchair could “upset the other guests”
“We asked for a table inside the eatery. The manager ignored us twice, but later said that the wheelchair couldn’t be allowed inside. It could upset the other guests,” said Srishti. “We were then told to sit outside in this chilly weather.” Srishti took to social media platforms to condemn the incident and demand better accessibility to public spaces in the city.
The café management issued an apology and pleaded that it was a one-off incident. The manager has been sacked for “insensitivity”, it said. “We deeply regret the incident. I am personally looking into the matter and we have relieved the manager from his services with immediate effect. We are also taking sessions with the staff to ensure such instances are not repeated in the future. We have been here for over a decade. This was a one-off incident,” said Goutmesh Singh, the co-founder of Raasta.
Singh said Srishti couldn’t be allowed inside because of the weekend rush and the lack of space to ensure her safety. The services, however, weren’t denied to the family, he added. The management claimed while most of the café was wheelchair-accessible, certain areas were not because of the floor layout.
Experts called for an audit of public spaces and efforts to make them accessible for all. “I, too, faced a similar situation in 2015 in one of the upscale restaurants in south Delhi. This should be a wake-up call for the Haryana government. The authorities should take serious action that becomes a deterrent for others. They should also bring in changes to the bylaws that mandate making these spaces accessible to all,” said Nipun Malhotra, the co-founder and CEO of Nipman Foundation, which works for people with disabilities.
The district administration, meanwhile, took cognisance of the incident. “The unfortunate incident has come to our notice. Such discrimination is unacceptable and illegal. We will soon issue a notice to the restaurant management,” deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav told TOI.
