New Delhi, July 11: Bengal's Hazarduari has made it to a list of ASI-protected complexes set for an upgrade to make them disabled-friendly.

So have the Taj Mahal, the Sun Temple in Konark, the Ajanta caves and the Red Fort, to name a few.

The four are among 50 ASI-protected complexes that have been identified for the upgrade, nearly 15 years after scientist Stephen Hawking's desire to visit four monuments in the national capital had brought under focus accessibility problems the physically challenged faced in India.

The upgrade will be part of the Accessible India Campaign to ensure universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, and the culture ministry along with the Archaeological Survey of India have identified these monuments after being prodded by the social justice and empowerment ministry.

The plan is to not only facilitate physical access to these monuments but also to parking areas, toilets and other public areas like the ticket and sales counters. Accessibility, activists say, starts from the moment one reaches a particular place.

Also, braille signages, tactile floors and pathways and railings are being planned, with the ASI open to suggestions on what else could be done to make monuments more accessible for the differently abled.

Back in 2001 Hawking had expressed a desire to visit the Jantar Mantar, Qutb Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort. Temporary ramps had then been placed at all four complexes and Hawking visited two: the Qutb Minar and the Jantar Mantar.

After his visit, the ASI wanted to remove the ramps but Delhi High Court stayed the move, paving the way for ramps that made physical access easier.

Some of the monuments selected for the upgrade now are the Hemis Monastery in Leh, the Qutb Minar complex, Ranthambore Fort, the Jageshwar temple in Uttarakhand, Rani ki Vav in Gujarat, Bekal Fort in Kerala, Golconda Fort in Telangana and Fort Gingee in Tamil Nadu.

Some of these, according to disabled rights activists and travel magazines, have already been made somewhat physically accessible since Hawking's visit.

"The Taj Mahal is a very enjoyable and seamless experience for a wheelchair user," says Disabled Rights Group convener Javed Abidi, who had spearheaded the campaign for accessibility to monuments during Hawking's visit.

At the Qutb Minar, a wheelchair user can now go right up to the Iron Pillar, courtesy the ramps placed all over.

Abidi welcomed the latest initiative, saying: "I hope they do it in a comprehensive manner; till now the efforts have been piecemeal."

Culture ministry officials say a beginning was being made with the "tourist friendly centrally protected monuments" and the ASI would make the necessary arrangements without impacting the structures.

Asked why these monuments had been selected, officials said they attracted the maximum number of footfalls and so were picked for the first phase of the upgrade.

It will, however, not be a one-size-fits-all upgrade because the ASI will have to keep in mind the primary need to preserve the structure in question.

Abidi acknowledges this. "At the Taj Mahal, I know that as a wheelchair user, it is not easy to go right inside nor are we demanding that facilities be made for us to climb right on top of the Qutb Minar," Abidi told this newspaper.