Bengaluru-based NGO Anuprayas and Northern Railways have come
together to make Chandigarh railway station accessible to visually impaired
people. This will make Chandigarh the first visually-impaired friendly
railway station in North India.
The Indian Railways will partner with
Anuprayas, a Bengaluru-based NGO working to make India into
a blind-friendly nation, to make Chandigarh railway station accessible to
visually impaired people.
The project, headed by Anuprayas and Northern Railways will
begin on 20 November and will be finished in three months’ time.
Founded by Pancham Cajla, who is based in Chandigarh, Anuprayaas has
installed Braille signage at Mysuru, Mumbai and Bengaluru railway stations.
Pancham has been working closely with NGOs that empower people with
disabilities since his childhood. While volunteering as a scribe, he had a
chance to observe the difficulties experienced by visually impaired people
closely. After he moved to Mysuru for work, he continued to volunteer for
blind schools, NGOs and hospitals and this led him to start Anuprayaas with
the aim of empowering people with disabilities.
A visually impaired friend missed his train at Mysuru station for lack of
Braille or audio facilities. There are many visually impaired people who
love to travel but cannot because public transport services are not
disabled-friendly. – Pancham Cajla, Founder, Anuprayaas
Among the things planned is a tactile map that gives a blueprint of the
station’s physical layout, with the distance, location of the entrance/exit,
platforms and washrooms scripted in embossed paper. There will be platform
indicators and train itinerary signs in Braille as well so visually impaired
passengers can find their train scheduled and travel independently. “However,
these signboards are fixed and do not provide real time information as in the
case of electronic boards”, said Pancham to the media.
There are plans to expand such facilities to other railway stations in India
as well. “Travelling is accessible and disabled friendly in many foreign
locations. In India, we still have a long way to go. But it is definitely
catching up”, he says.
If the project goes well, it will encourage the Indian Railways to look at
embracing it pan India. With this project said an official spokesperson “the
Indian Railways has added another feather to its cap”.
Mohit Singh Saini, an employee of Punjab National
Bank, who lives in Chandigarh, welcomes the announcement. “As a
visually impaired person, the biggest deterrent I face is accessibility. Such
initiatives will encourage us to move around independently and confidently
and this is very good news”.
