The 38th Accessibility Meetup in Pune was organized at the Someshwar Temple and Museum.
This temple complex has several smaller temples and 3 museums:
- The spiritual museum.
- The museum of scale models of 12 Jyotirling temples.
- Indian traditional artisans museums.
Note: The 3rd museum was not visited because of lack of time.
The following was checked:
- Accessibility of the main entrance.
- Availability of ramps at various places.
- Accessibility of the washroom/toilet.
- Accessibility of the parking space.
- Availability of wheelchairs.
Here is the link to the meetup invitation:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1184059248999553/
The Someshwar Temple in Pashan has spacious accessible parking for both 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler.
The main gate was closed in the afternoon when I went there but is open during temple timings.
This entrance to the temple is accessible to a wheelchair since it is leveled with the main road and the parking.
Here is another entrance to the temple that has accessibility features like the steel railing to aid those with constrained mobility though not necessarily accessible for a wheelchair-bound person.
These are the next level of staircases that also has railings, helpful for senior citizens who are major visitors to the temple, though not necessarily for a wheelchair.
Adjacent to the deep-stambh or lamp pillar ar another set of staircases that have steel handrails, that are not necessarily helpful to a person with a wheelchair.
The staircase going towards the Peepal tree also have steel handrails to aid the differently-abled, though not necessarily for a wheelchair.
This is the path towards the first museum - The Spiritual Museum.
The path is leveled to ease the movement of a wheelchair.
This is the entrance to the first museum and the entry has a single step.
A single step is considered technically accessible for a wheelchair though temporary movable ramps were available on request.
Also, the internal flooring is leveled to ease the movement of a wheelchair, and also there is a steel railing for those with crutches.
Similar flooring and steel railings are provided in the other sections of the museum as well.
Here is the final gallery of the museum with steel railings and leveled flooring provided as accessibility features.
This is the entrance to the second museum - of scale models of Jyotirling Temples
This entrance has steel handrails on both sides hence it is not necessarily accessible for a wheelchair.
The other entrance to the second museum is leveled with the footpath thus facilitating easy movement of a wheelchair.
The walkways in the Jyotirling Temple scale model museum are leveled for easy movement of a wheelchair.
The walkway also has steel railings.
The Peepal tree which is an integral part of every Indian temple is inaccessible for a wheelchair.
There is a sit-out area for senior citizens with benches that has a leveled floor and is thus accessible for a wheelchair.
The shoe rack is also accessible as seen in the photo below.
There are two drinking water dispensers in the temple premises and both are accessible.
One of the cooler brands also bears my name 
as seen in the inset.
Conclusion
The Someshwar temple and museums in Pune are fully geared towards embracing the differently-abled and though there were a few discontinuities, helpful people were always available nearby to ease the experience of the differently-abled.
This meetup was conducted as part of the Accessibility for All movement.
BR
Tushar Suradkar
Pune
