Polio crippled
both his legs at childhood, yet Tamil teacher Manickam did not flinch at
the several transfers to far-flung schools in the state through his
career, dragging himself on crutches. It was only after his retirement
in 2004 that he ‘graduated’ to the more comfortable wheelchair because
of age.
Now 67, the teacher keeps travelling on work related to the TARATDAC (Tamil Nadu association for all types of disabled persons and caregivers) in different parts of the state, taking his wife along for support. It was during one such long hop from native Sivaganga to Tirupur last Saturday that Manickam suffered the humiliation of the bus crews.
“I had to change four buses to reach
my final destination. A conductor at Dindigul would not allow me to
board his bus saying my wheelchair would take space. I waited for an
hour to catch the next bus, in which the conductor forced me to pay Rs
73 as luggage for the wheelchair. It hurt me a lot”, said Manickam,
showing the tickets who had won the government’s best teacher award in
2002 and received an award for his short stories in 2006.
S Namburajan of TARATDAC said the state transport secretary B K Prasad had, during their meeting on December 3, assured that the disabled commuters would be treated kindly by the bus crews and they would not be charged extra for carrying their support gear. Despite the top official’s concern for the disabled, most of the drivers and conductors remained insensitive, Namburajan said, adding, “It’s high time the transport corporation authorities sensitise their crews to treat us better”.
A recent state survey found 22 lakh disabled people in Tamil Nadu, almost half of them women. The Jayalalithaa government has been concerned about their special needs and initiated several measures to help them—Manickam needs to pay only 25 per cent bus fare—but it seems that the officials down the line remain indifferent.
Source : Deccan Chronicle , 24th Dec 2013
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