Ability khabarnama section features a roundup of the latest
health, medical, and world disability news focusing on
up-to-the-minute breaking news, video, audio and feature stories from around the globe. International news items and articles include updates on disability legislation and coming health and disability events, as well as medical research breakthroughs, and advances in the field of medicine, science, and cures for various disabilities.
Sourav Kaibartya, a fisherman's son who scored 94.2% in his higher secondary examination this year got entry into NIT Durgapur for engineering course. The boy was at a loss as to who will fund his education. That is when a corporate house came into his rescue. Thirty-seven students like him from West Bengal meritorious but from poor families will now get to continue their studies with an initiative from Magma Fincorp Ltd.
As a part of the organisation's CSR activity, M scholarship for 2016
that will help the scholarship holders for their undergraduate studies
has been announced.
"Every year many meritorious students hailing from poor families are
forced to discontinue their higher education due to lack of funds.
Keeping alive our motto of investing in the smallest dreams, Magma
Fincorp Ltd., started the scholarship last year and offers 50
scholarships every year. This year, a large number of students from West
Bengal, has won the scholarship - winning almost 75% of the total
number offered," said Kaushik Sinha, vice president and head of CSR at
Magma Fincorp Ltd.
Sumana Shit despite being physically challenged due to idiopathic
juvenile scoliosis did not give up. When she scored 94% in the higher
secondary examination she was worried as a family income as low as Rs
3000 per month, was not enough to support her studies further. Sumana
too is a recipient of the scholarship.
The scholarship will fund the undergraduate studies of the 37 recipients from West Bengal.
QMTI will launch an initiative called Hrunn on October 21.
The initiative aims at respectable rehabilitation of differently-abled soldiers of the Indian armed forces.
As part of its ongoing centenary year celebrations Queen Mary’s
Technical Institute (QMTI), in association with Redefine Concepts, will
be launching an initiative — Hrunn – Ab Hamari Jimmedari — at
Balgandharva Rangmandir, 6 pm on October 21.
The initiative aims at respectable rehabilitation of differently-abled soldiers of the Indian armed forces.
The inauguration and logo unveiling will be at the hands of former
captain of the Indian cricket team and chairman of BCCI Selective
Committee, Chandu Borde. The occasion will also see the presence of
renowned scientist and DRDO Director-General Anil Datar,
founder-president of Lakshya Foundation Anuradha Prabhdesai and actor
and association member for QMTI centenary committee Vikram Gokhale.
CEO of QMTI Col. Devendra Gupta (Retd.) said, “We are in the process
of upgrading the training facilities and infrastructure of the
institute. We want to raise awareness about the nobility of the
institute. Hrunn aims towards participation of public at large in this
cause.”
QMTI has been working for and imparting vocational training to
differently-abled ex-servicemen or those rendered unfit for service in
the Armed Forces due to medical reasons or prolonged medical treatment
for the last 99 years.
But, with this initiative, it aims to further its cause by generating
funds to help make these soldiers more equipped and empowered. Redefine
Concepts will be working as the official communication partner for this
cause throughout the year.
Redefine Concepts will be coming up with different initiatives throughout the year to raise funds to support QMTI.
QMTI was founded in Mumbai on May 16, 1917 by Lady Marie Willingdon,
wife of the then Governor of Bombay province. In 1922, QMTI was shifted
to a better and 17.3-acre location at Khadki.
For the convenience of the differently-abled, the government has asked states to ensure that buses are adequately equipped with user-friendly features.
"Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has directed all states to have 10 per cent of the total fleet of buses to be equipped with disabled friendly features to provide people with physical and visual disabilities easier access," industry body Assocham said in a statement today quoting Joint Secretary, MoRTH Abhay Damle.
Addressing a conference on 'Safe road-safe Life', Damle said majority of people with disabilities are mostly apprehensive of using public transport as presently state owned and private buses are not equipped and do not meet the requirement of people with special needs.
"State transport authorities have been asked to acquire and equip buses designed to enable people with disabilities to board and disembark without having to be assisted," the statement said quoating him.
It said that Ministry has also issued advisory to State transport departments to issue driving Licenses to the differently abled clearing all normal driving tests and formalities.
"A person without both the hands has been issued a driving license in Indore recently. Moreover, the state transport and Motor Vehicle registration authorities in the country have been asked to immediately register vehicles modified by the disabled without and certificate from the vehicle manufacturer," said Damle.
Regarding motor vehicle safety, Indian cars presently being manufactured are quite safe, the official said and that more stress should be given on two wheeler safety by vehicle manufacturers as 80 per cent of the vehicles in the country are two wheelers.
India is signatory to UN Decade of Action for reducing fatal road accidents by 50 per cent by the year 2020 , but road accident deaths are on the rise with about 1.5 lakh deaths in crashes every year.
The 2011 census says there are 21 million differently-abled persons in India
Travelling is generally a tedious process for all, because it
involves reporting at the airport at least two hours before the
departure of the flight, going through the security checks, having to
discard objects the security personnel do not allow on the flight, etc.
However, for the differently-abled, the hassles become manifold, as was
seen in the case of the Paralympian Aditya Mehta, who had to take off
his prosthetic and strip down during security checks at the airport in
Bengaluru. On an earlier occasion too he had been asked to take off his
prosthetic at Delhi airport. He had then written to the PMO and the
relevant civil aviation authorities but he is still to hear from them.
This has once again brought up questions on security protocol for the differently-abled.
Before this incident, as early as 2014, several disability rights
activists had given guidelines to the airports to be followed. Some of
these were not forcing wheelchair users to stand for checks, not lifting
wheelchair users, etc. The alternatives suggested were screening the
passengers, and in seclusion. The problem can be lessened to a
considerable extent by making it obligatory for the differently-abled to
give an advance notice of, say, two days to the airport authorities,
and arriving a little earlier than the rest.
As a matter of fact, we do have rules for the convenience of
differently-abled passengers. However, nothing exempts them from
security checks, which results in objectionable things happening. But
there are ways of avoiding inconvenience to the differently-abled. For
example, a differently-abled person can be made to go through electronic
checks and not be compelled to take off his or her prosthetic. In the
United States, there is legislation in this regard and both in the UK
and the US there are systems and procedures governing the dignity of the
differently-abled.
Apart from facing problems at airports, the differently-abled are
inconvenienced in other ways also. The 2011 census says there are 21
million differently-abled persons in India and the target is to make 50%
of government buildings convenient for them to use in various ways such
as having wheelchair lifts, ramps, Braille signposts, etc. Constructing
accessible buildings and creating mobile apps for information on
inaccessible places can be made part of corporate social responsibility.
But all these will remain just dreams if we do not have the right
attitude towards the differently-abled and recognise that there must be
enough space for them to overcome the hurdles they face.
Members of the Physically Handicapped Persons
Association staged a protest against the government at Ambedkar Chowk
here today.
They also threatened to intensify their agitation against
the Punjab and Union governments if their demands were not met.
The association is demanding employment for educated
physically-handicapped persons. It has also accused the government of
turning a blind eye towards the welfare of the physically handicapped.
Raising slogans against the state government, the members alleged that
as the politicians made lofty promises of ensuring free education and
medical facilities to them to curb the problems of illiteracy and
poverty, their fundamental rights were also being taken away.
“Even after 64 years of gaining independence, politicians pay little
attention to the rights and demands of the physically handicapped
persons,” said Balwinder Singh, leader of the association.
The members also threatened that if the state government did not
announce favourable policies as per their needs and not drafted
according to their demands, they would be left with no option but to
launch an agitation against the government.
Adamant on their demands of opening 5,000 posts for the physically
challenged, employment as per their ability and qualifications and an
increase in pension amount up to Rs 3,000 per month of physically
challenged persons, the union members vowed to make the public aware of
how false promises were made to them during a panel meeting held with
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on June 18.
They further stated that there were about 12 lakh physically challenged
persons, out of whom 60 per cent have complete documents regarding their
disability but the government had failed to increase the amount of
their pension.
Balwinder said the government had been spending crores on its
advertisements but it had failed to increase the amount of our pension
despite the fact that many of handicaped persons were living
hand-to-mouth.
“We are demanding that the education and health facilities should be
provided free of cost to physically challenged and their children,” he
added.
Announcing a major Diwali bonanza, the Punjab
government on Tuesday regularised the services of over 30,000 employees
working on contract basis in various government departments and
societies in the state.
The decision, which comes into force with
immediate effect, was taken during the cabinet meeting chaired by the
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal this afternoon.
With
elections barely a few months away, the decision is being seen as a last
ditch effort by the Badal Government to win over protesting groups of
such employees.
In another significant decision, the cabinet also
decided to "adopt" all the employees who have been taken through
private outsourcing agencies or contractors. These employees will no
longer be on contract with the private contractors but would be shifted
straightaway to a direct arrangement with the government.
The
cabinet also directed the chief secretary to ensure that all the cases
related to employment on compassionate grounds in all departments should
be decided and disposed of on priority within a period of three weeks.
In
another important decision, the cabinet further decided that the entire
backlog of posts related to all reserved categories which included
scheduled castes, backward classes, physically handicapped should be
immediately filled up through a special recruitment drive.
In a
major goodwill gesture and as an expression of honour and gratitude, the
cabinet also formally approved the special grant-in-aid of Rs.
50 lakh to be given to the war widows or their legal heirs, of the
valiant soldiers who had laid down their lives in the 1965 and 1971
India-Pak wars and 1962 India-China war.
The said policy had been
announced way back in 1975 and over 1500 war-widows who had applied in
time had been allotted up to 10 acres of rural agricultural land or cash
equivalent in lieu of land at the rate notified from time to time.
However, there were nearly 100 cases in which the applicants, for one
reason or another, failed to apply within the stipulated cut-off date.
Above 100 such cases had applied till the extended cut-off date January
4, 2010.
The Bombay High Court has directed the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
to pay compensation of Rs five lakh to a 62-year-old woman who used to
work with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for compulsorily
retiring her after she approached court seeking upgrade of her post.
A division bench of justices V M Kanade and
Revati Mohite Dere was hearing a petition filed by Sheila Rajan
challenging the order passed by the Director General of the AFMS, MoD
refusing to upgrade her post from Group C to Group B.
Rajan joined the AFMS of the MoD in 1971 as a speech therapist.
According to her petition, the then Colonel in-charge of administration made a recommendation for upgrade of her post.
However, this came to be rejected on the ground that the MoD
cannot upgrade posts as it can be done only by the Pay Commission, it
contended.
Rajan then approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
but before her matter could be heard the Army passed an order of
compulsory retirement against Rajan in April 1992.
Apart from this, the Army further reduced Rajan's two increments, said the petition.
"The facts disclose a very sorry state of affairs and we are
pained to note that the respondents (Ministry of Defence), instead of
issuing a letter of appreciation for the work done by the petitioner
chose to punish her merely because she approached the court against inaction on the part of the respondents," the judges said.
The bench noted the petitioner was made to run from pillar to post and was penalised for approaching the court in an attempt to get justice.
"In this case the petitioner has been working for children of
Army men who are physically handicapped and who have to be given speech
therapy. Instead of considering her grievance in a sympathetic manner
and giving a pat on the back of such a good working officer, the Army
chose to humiliate and punish her in every conceivable manner," the court said.
The bench noted that while the MoD has committed contempt of court by not complying with orders it does not intend to take any action under the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act.
"We express our extreme dissatisfaction over the conduct of the
respondents in this particular case. We propose to award compensation
to the petitioner and direct the respondents to pay a sum of Rs 5 lakh
to the petitioner within eight weeks," the court directed.
The court, said the Pay Commission in 2006 has already upgraded
the post of speech therapist from Grade C to Grade B and hence no order
was required on this issue.
“Many people told me that I was a curse and
burden for my family. Some even advised me to commit suicide,” says
Naqeebullah Ehsas, a man hit by poliovirus in his childhood and still
unable to walk.
Sharing the most traumatic yet
game-changing experience of his life, he says, “I used to crawl away on a
two-kilometre-long rugged road in a harsh mountainous area to go to and
return from the primary school in my village.
“During
that journey, once I was intercepted by two elderly men who beat me blue
and black, furiously punched me and kicked me as if they wanted to kill
me. Why, I don’t know.
“I was traumatised. But I turned
my grief into my power and decided that I am not going to continue
living this wretched life,” a confident Ehsas says.
He
was born in a poor family in Churmayun village of Balochistan’s Pishin
district. If not for his strength and endurance, he would have been dead
or leading a miserable life.
But he is alive and
strong. “I did my BA in Social Sciences and MA in Pashto literature.
Will earn my Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in December after which
I plan to go for PhD,” Ehsas said.
Naqeebullah Ehsas who used to crawl to school now lives a successful life and wants other polio victims to follow suit
He told Dawn that as anchor he hosts two programmes for
Radio Pashtun and PTV, is a poet and a lecturer in a government college
in Quetta. Most of all, he is working to uplift the lot of special
people and give them the due place they deserve in society. He runs an
NGO, Physically Handicapped Welfare Association.
Ehsas says he is inspired by a quote from Confucius: “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.”
It relates to his life and encourages him to keep on struggling and achieving success after success.
But
all these successes hadn’t come easy. He has gone through extreme
adversity. The physical labour he had to endure to perform very simple
routine tasks of everyday life, like walking.
But, above
all, it is the social stigma he faced during his childhood which pains
him most even now. “People’s misunderstanding and ill treatment hurt me
more than the burden of being crippled.”
Like every media reporter, I am also an inquisitive self, but here I felt that I have been sort of knocked down by Ehsas.
I had no more questions to ask...
After
a long pause of heavy and crushing silence, I made an uneasy move with
the intention of taking leave from him. Ehsas read my mind and said
smilingly, “Let me tell you a story that changed my life.
Then he narrated the episode of him being beaten by two old men when he was a small child.
“The
enraged assailants took turns to thrash me, showered my legs with kicks
and pounded on my back. Until, they were too tired. I thought I would
die but survived by the grace of God,” he paused.
“This
tragic incident changed my life and helped me to withstand miseries and
inspired me to succeed in life.” He continued “Because I wanted to prove
the old men were wrong”.
Ehsas completed his elementary
education in his village confronting a lot of challenges. Then he
shifted to Quetta where he enrolled in a high school in special
education programme. During his high school period, he worked in a
clinic to earn money for his living expenses and payment of school fee.
Later he worked as a junior clerk at a government organisation.
“Like the pendulum, I am still simultaneously living in two different worlds,” he said.
“I
am still haunted by the agonising memories of my past. The unbearable
pain which marked the tender days of my childhood is still imprinted on
my soul. The stain is impossible to remove. Though I have left that
phase of my life far behind, and am now a happy person and a role model
for others, a successful man, the irritation caused by my crutches
transports me to my excruciating past.”
“I wish no one suffered what I had gone through.”
Ehsas
sighed slightly and continued, “Whenever I read or hear that polio
virus is still active in Quetta and some other parts of the country, I
am shocked. I am afraid that more and more children are going to be
affected by polio and destined to live a miserable life.”
“Not everyone is going to make it like me. We need to stop this virus to save our coming generation,” Ehsas insists.
“If
we fail, the next generation would be laughing at us that we couldn’t
fight with a tiny virus. We couldn’t eradicate polio due to our failure
to educate unaware and gullible parents who buy conspiracy theories
against the vaccine,” he said.
It was time to leave. I
had no words to say to Ehsas, but told him that he is a blessed soul and
God is happy with the successes he has achieved.
Let me conclude by his wonderful phrase. “People’s misunderstanding is more dangerous than the virus.”
A free artificial limbs distribution camp was
organised by Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Trust, Punjab, at Viklang
Sahayata Kendra today.
Artificial limbs, calipers, tricycles, wheel chairs and hearing
aids were given to 12 physically handicapped persons. Meanwhile, a free
polio corrective surgery camp was also held where eight patients were
operated. The camp was sponsored by Anil Gupta, MD, Tech Auto Pvt. Ltd.
Disappointed with government and authorities for their failure to complete Dwarka Expressway,
one of the important infrastructure project of NCR, home buyers, who
have booked flats in townships being developed across e-way now seeks
divine intervention for completion of this jinxed project. To appease
almighty and seek his intervention to complete the project, home buyers
performed puja and Havan on Sunday on Dwaraka Expressway.
Around 90,000 people have invested in residential and commercial
properties in more than 100 projects being developed along Northern
Peripheral Road (NPR) also known as Dwarka
Expressway, which was conceived and developed as alternate route
between Delhi and Gurgaon. The road was expected to reduce traffic load
of 40% on NH-8. Most of the real-estate project of Gurgaon planned on
this expressway, which was promoted as new Gurgaon, but even after seven
years NPR, now a national highway, is still incomplete ridden with
litigation and obstacles.
"Left with no hope, now we seek divine help through this havan and
puja, so that God helps us, protect our hard earned money invested in
these properties and give us our home," said Gaurav Prakash , an
executive member of DXP Welfare Association,
a group of home buyers. He said more than 1000 families have got the
possession of their flats in last few months but they are unable to move
into their dream home due to non-completion of Dwarka Expressway.
More than hundred home buyers from different project assembled at end
point of Dwarka Expressway in Gurgaon at sector 111 to perform puja and
havan. Later they took out a rally on e-way to register their grievance
over delay in completion of the road.
"My father who is physically handicapped had purchased a flat with all
his life time savings in 2011 on Dwarka Expressway thinking of it to be a
world class road with metro connectivity. But our dream has turned
nightmare due to delay in completion of this road. I pay rent and EMI
but we are not sure when this road will be completed," Prakhar Sahay,
one of the home buyers.
Komal Ahuja, vice-president of DXP said after returning from USA in
2014 he booked a flat on e-way with a hope to live in an area with world
class infrastructure. "Forget about world class infrastructure, we have
not able to get basic infrastructure like road, water, sewerage,
electricity connection," said Ahuja adding that home buyers are today in
middle of nowhere, they have invested in property which have no
connectivity with mainland.
There were home buyers, who have got possession of their flats but not
able to shift into their houses in lack of connectivity and basic civic
infrastructure. "I got possession of my flat, which I had purchased
after paying several crores, few months back, but still I am staying in
rented flat in Dwarka as there is no connectivity due to incomplete
Dwarka Expressway," said Manish Grover.
Finding it hard to pay EMI and rent, some of the people who got
possession shifted to their house, but in absence of basic civic
amenities, they have to face problems on daily basis. "We shifted to our
house few weeks back, but living in this area which has no connection
with mainland is very difficult. There is no connectivity, proper water
and electricity, no shops ... nothing. It is like living in an isolated
island," said Major (rtd) RK Rao.
Affirming that they are repeatedly neglected by the state governments
over last two years in appointment for government jobs, the physically
handicapped (PH) candidates have written to the Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan seeking his intervention to ensure justice. In a letter to the
CM, the PH candidates indicate that it is sad that their appointment
based on PH job reservation rules has been neglected by Kerala government over the years despite the apex court and high court ruling in their favour.
"Even after a representation is made and despite that the file is
doing the rounds since a long time (File: 6464/SJD/2015) we have not
been able to find justice," said a PH candidate K Madhu from Thrissur,
a post graduate from IIT Kharagpur. He has made it to the KPSC Rank
list for Deputy Collector Post in land revenue department two years back
and is yet to be posted.
No different is the plight of other PH candidates whose names had
figured in the rank list and are yet to be posted. The PH candidates
Sugatha Kumar, a hearing impaired, Praveen A, an orthopedically
handicapped and Sananda Singh a low vision candidate are yet to be
considered by the state for the post of municipal secretary, though the
courts had ruled in their favour.
Supreme Court
directive which means that the first vacancy should be reserved for the
disabled, then the 34th and 67th. It also seeks to implement the
Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act from 1996 onwards and fill the PH
backlog vacancies from existing KPSC rank list.
Now, the file on PH appointment is with Social Justice Department
(SJD), yet a decision on implementing that can be taken only by the
state government by issuing an order. When contacted, SJD secretary A
Shahjahan told TOI that a joint meeting of the secretaries from the
concerned departments will be held on Monday. "A decision on the
appointment of the disabled based on the Supreme Court directive can be
expected soon after the joint meeting," he said.
Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry on Friday said it would put in place all
basic facilities for physically challenged people to visit the island
nation.
Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister, John Amaratunga said in a statement
that with this year’s theme being: `Tourism for all promoting universal
accessibility,’ it was the right time for the government to plan ahead.
Amaratunga, however, said that planning ahead will make Sri Lanka a
success story in providing accessibility to all in this part of the
world.
“It is of greater relevance to us here in Sri Lanka as we are now on
the cusp of rapid growth in both tourism infrastructure development and
hotel inventory.
“We need to start by facilitating our own physically challenged
people who are eager to explore their motherland, but hesitate to do so
due to inadequate facilities,’’ he stressed.
Amaratunga emphasised that Sri Lanka was obligated to put in place
the basic facilities needed to ensure both the safety and comfort of
physically challenged people.
To facilitate buying concession tickets easy for the
differently abled persons and to prevent misuse of the facility, Railway
administration is issuing photo ID cards for them all over the Indian
Railways.
In Salem Railway Division, so far 5,326
applications were received for issue of photo ID cards for the
differently abled persons, at Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur and
Karur railway stations.
Of
these, 5,173 have already collected the ID cards from the places where
they submitted the applications. A total of 189 applicants are yet to
receive the identity cards.
Since the doctor’s
certification has to be verified before handing over the ID cards, the
remaining 189 beneficiaries can approach the appropriate authorities in
the centres where they submitted their applications on or before October
5 to receive their ID cards in person. They may also contact mobile No.
98409 16964 for any assistance in this regard, an official press
release of the Salem Railway Division issued here on Friday said.
The Madras High Court Bench here has set aside an order
passed by Ayakudi town panchayat in Tirunelveli district on April 1 last
suspending from service two healthy individuals who were appointed to
the post of hand pump operator way back in 2001 under the quota for the
physically challenged.
Allowing individual writ
appeals preferred by S. Periyasamy and Jesu Antony by way of a common
order, a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and V.M.
Velumani, however, gave liberty to the Executive Officer of the town
panchayat to expedite departmental enquiry initiated against them and
pass final orders as soon as possible.
The judges
agreed with the petitioners’ counsel that suspension of government
employees, pending enquiry into allegations of fraudulent recruitment,
could be resorted to only if there were chances of tampering of records
or other such evidence. In the present case, no such thing could be done
by the petitioners occupying a lower level post.
The
Division Bench also said documents produced by the petitioners, prima
facie, disclosed that they were not suffering from any disability and
had registered their names with Employment Exchange only under the
General Category. They were also subjected to medical examination at the
time of recruitment on consolidated pay in 2001.
The
medical examination report also disclosed that they were not physically
challenged. Yet, they had been appointed under the quota and their
services were regularised in 2006. It was only after the filing of a
public interest litigation petition in the High Court last year alleging
misuse of quota meant for the physically challenged, the town panchayat
initiated action.
“It is pertinent to point out at
this juncture that the appellants are under employment for nearly 14
years and all of a sudden they are placed under suspension,” the
Division Bench said after overruling a single judge’s refusal to
entertain their writ petitions on the ground that the culpability of the
petitioners could be found only after conclusion of departmental
enquiry.
In a special drive, the Railway Protection Force
(RPF) caught over 50 cops travelling in handicapped compartments. This
drive was conducted after several warnings to the cops from the
Inspector General of the RPF to not travel in handicapped compartments fell on deaf ears. The drive focussed on major stations such as Kalyan, Ambernath, Badlapur, Dombivali, Thane and Kurla.
A team from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) checked each of the
handicapped compartments, detained cops found in the coaches and took
down their identification numbers. The RPF now intends to write to their
superiors. Central Railway officials said that when able bodied persons
travel in coaches reserved for the physically handicapped, it causes
all sorts of concerns and often results in the chain being pulled, which
is one of the main causes of trains getting delayed. Officials said
each time the train's chain is pulled, it gets delayed for two to five
minutes.
Nitin Gaikward, who is physically-challenged and travels from Ghatkopar to CST, called this exercise an eye wash. Gaikward
said, "After filing several petitions the RPF did not fine these cops.
They were simply detained. It is very troublesome for handicapped
commuters as the entire coach is occupied by these people."
Senior Divisional Security Commissioner for RPF on Central Railway
Sachin Bhalode said, "This is a part of an on-going drive which we
conducting to curb the problem. We will also write to their superiors
and departmental heads to highlight the problem."
A week before the terrible massacre in Paris earlier this year, my
best friend went with her husband and young daughter on a trip to the
City of Light they had promised themselves a long time ago. That he was
now wheelchair bound did not impede their plans a whit.
From taking his battery-operated chair on board the Air France flight
to the special cab that took them around Paris to their hotel room and
bathroom, everything was kitted out for those with special needs.
Parisians are not known to be particularly friendly to “outsiders”,
including people from their own country. But amazingly, they pulled out
all the stops for this doughty couple, helping them at every point.
Privileged entry to museums and other public buildings was a given; even
restaurants and washrooms were equipped to deal with wheelchairs.
Nary an inconvenient step or two impeded their access anywhere. They
came back glowing with goodwill for Paris. When it comes to planning
anything within our own vast and wondrous country, however, they are not
that confident. Things are far from being truly “accessible” here. They
are in the process of painstakingly finding out from domestic air
carriers whether battery-operated wheelchairs are allowed on board and
whether hotel rooms in India have rooms with high beds and manoeuvrable
bathrooms that all international chains abroad now provide as a matter
of course. For those with any sort of physical challenge, tourism within
India is not easy.
Travel operators do specialize in organizing trips for them but
options are not exhaustive. Transport for those incapacitated in some
way is not guaranteed; tourist spots, whether architectural or natural
do not necessarily ensure accessibility to all areas. While ramps are
willingly provided as a nod to making premises “accessible”, more often
than not, they are too steep and do not cover the entire property. India
is leapfrogging on many indices, so it is not too much to expect that
the tourism sector would gear up to welcome travellers with special
needs. Indeed, one of the most subtle yet telling marker of a developed
society is the attention it pays to special needs.
India fares poorly on this. Our pavements are too high or uneven,
most buses and trains ignore those with mobility issues, buildings have
stairs and steps in inconvenient places and our administrators generally
do not care. Around 2.7 crore Indians have special needs– more than the
population of Australia, actually. And while it’s been “mandatory”
since 2009 for hotels to ensure accessibility and special rooms in line
with best practices abroad, even most tourist destinations lack such
facilities. In India, only one in 250 hotel rooms provide such features,
as compared to the international ratio of 1:50. And the revised Rights
of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 is yet to be passed.
The Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Sanchi Stupa confidently assert
their accessibility. Kerala Tourism (usually an industry leader) is
tomtomming Fort Kochi as its first accessible tourist spot while
Karnataka government ambitiously announced on World Tourism Day earlier
this week that 20 heritage destinations will be made
“disabled-friendly”–by installing ramps and audio panels!–taking a cue
from Tipu Sultan’s summer palace in Bengaluru, upgraded by ASI. The ASI
has picked 50 monuments under its Adarsh Smarak Yojana to implement the
“Accessible India” (Sugamya Bharat) campaign, including Ajanta and
Ellora, Red Fort, the Qutab Minar complex, Ranthambore Fort, Konark’s
Sun Temple and Hampi.
Solar wheelchairs and battery-operated buggies, Braille signs,
tactile pathways, railings and special toilets are on the cards. But
differently abled tourists need more than just monuments and hotels to
be made accessible. The entire infrastructure has to be geared to be
friendly to tourists with special needs, from transportation and
pavements to restaurants, theatres, cinema halls, stadiums, parks and
public buildings like post offices and shopping centres. Even in homes
and offices, there is little consideration for special needs in India.
Why should we (and employers) not take an initiative too by making
our individual environments accessible as well? Besides ramps, little
things matter – no unnecessary steps (despite their alleged aesthetic
value) to impede mobility, wider doorways and corridors, handles in
bathrooms and, most importantly, a sensitive approach. My best friend
and her family won’t have problems in my home…
