Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has installed ramps at entrances of gig workers’ lounges in Anna Nagar and T Nagar. These lounges for delivery partners are air conditioned and have toilets as well as power outlets to recharge mobile phones between orders. With the addition of the ramps, these resting facilities are now accessible to persons with disabilities (PwDs) too.The installation by GCC comes days after a report in The Times of India highlighted that the lounges were inaccessible to disabled delivery partners, particularly those who use wheelchairs.Several delivery partners, spending hours on their battery-powered wheelchairs delivering food and braving the terrible roads, were unable to use the facility to take a break owing to the lack of ramps. This situation has changed now, said K Sasikumar, a food delivery partner and a wheelchair user.“Before the ramps were added, I had to wait outside even when I was exhausted. It’s a relief to finally have a space where I can rest like everyone else,” he said.GCC plans to build similar lounges in Thiruvanmiyur, Villivakkam, Royapettah, Mylapore, and Nungambakkam.
